title: Effect of Forsythia suspensa extract and chito-oligosaccharide alone or in combination on performance, intestinal barrier function, antioxidant capacity and immune characteristics of weaned piglets.
abstract: We investigated the effects of Forsythia suspensa extract (FSE) and chito-oligosaccharide (COS), alone or together, on performance and health status of weaned piglets. The treatments included a basal diet and three diets with 160 mg/kg COS, 100 mg/kg FSE, or 100 mg/kg FSE and 160 mg/kg COS. Supplementation with COS or FSE alone improved (P < 0.01) average daily gain and feed conversion ratio compared with the basal diet in the first 2 weeks. On day 14, COS or FSE supplementation separately produced stronger (P < 0.01) serum total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase activities and lower serum endotoxin (P < 0.05) and malondialdehyde (P < 0.01) concentrations, generated higher (P < 0.01) serum complement 4 concentration, peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation and serum-specific ovalbumin antibody level than the basal diet. No differences in oxidative injury and immunity indices were detected on day 28. The combined FSE and COS produced similar results compared with FSE or COS when given alone. These data indicate FSE or COS can increase performance by modulating intestinal permeability, antioxidant status and immune function in younger pigs. There appears to be similar advantage in feeding the additives in combination over those obtained from feeding them separately.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Panfeng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiangshu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhikai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D031657:Forsythia / Q000737:chemistry*; D007422:Intestines / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013552:Swine / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Forsythia suspensa extract; chito-oligosaccharide; health status; performance; weaned piglet