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The present study was carried out to evaluate the pharmacological effect of Zn in diarrhoea in relation to intestinal permeability. Seventy-two weaning piglets, aged 24 d, were allocated to three dietary treatments: (1) control diet without supplemental Zn; (2) control diet supplemented with 2000 mg Zn/kg from ZnO; (3) control diet supplemented with 2000 mg Zn/kg from tetrabasic zinc chloride (TBZC). At the end of a 14 d experiment period, piglets were weighed, feed consumption was measured, and mucosal barrier function was determined using the lactulose/mannitol test. Expression of mucosal tight junction protein was measured at RNA and protein level. Inclusion of TBZC or ZnO in the diet significantly increased average daily gain (P < 0·01) and average daily feed intake (P < 0·05), while leading to reduced feed conversion ratio (P < 0·05) and faecal scores (P < 0·01). TBZC reduced urinary lactulose:mannitol ratios of weaning piglets (P < 0·05), while dietary supplementation with ZnO tended to reduce urinary lactulose:mannitol ratios (P = 0·061). ZnO or TBZC significantly enhanced the mRNA and protein expression of occludin (P < 0·05) and zonula occludens protein-1 (ZO-1) (P < 0·05) in the ileal mucosa. Piglets fed the TBZC-supplemented diet had a higher level of occludin than pigs fed the ZnO-supplemented diet (P < 0·05). The results indicate that Zn supplementation decreased faecal scores and the reduction was accompanied by reduced intestinal permeability, which was evident from the reduced urinary lactulose:mannitol ratios and increased expression of occludin and ZO-1. Therefore, the protective effect of pharmacological levels of dietary Zn in reducing diarrhoea might, at least partly, be associated with reduced intestinal permeability.

Early weaning of piglets is often accompanied by a severe growth check and diarrhoea. It is well established that this process is multi-factorial and that post-weaning anorexia and undernutrition are major aetiological factors. Gastrointestinal disturbances include alterations in small intestine architecture and enzyme activities. Recent data indicate transiently-increased mucosal permeability, disturbed absorptive–secretory electrolyte balance and altered local inflammatory cytokine patterns after weaning. These responses appear to operate according to two distinct temporal patterns, an acute response followed by a long-lasting adaptation response. Pigs coexist with a diverse and dense commensal microbiota in their gastrointestinal tract. Most of these microbes are beneficial, providing necessary nutrients or protection against harmful pathogens for the host. The microbial colonisation of the porcine intestine begins at birth and follows a rapid succession during the neonatal and weaning period. Following the withdrawal of sow's milk the young piglets are highly susceptible to enteric diseases partly as a result of the altered balance between developing beneficial microbiota and the establishment of intestinal bacterial pathogens. The intestinal immune system of the newborn piglet is poorly developed at birth and undergoes a rapid period of expansion and specialisation that is not achieved before early (commercial) weaning. Here, new insights on the interactions between feed components, the commensal microbiota and the physiology and immunology of the host gastrointestinal tract are highlighted, and some novel dietary strategies are outlined that are focused on improving gut health. Prebiotics and probiotics are clear nutritional options, while convincing evidence is still lacking for other bioactive substances of vegetable origin.

In the present study, grape pomace (GP) was used as feed additive in the diet of weaned piglets in order to develop innovative feedstuffs and to investigate their potential beneficial effects on welfare, productivity and meat quality. For examining the antioxidant capacity of the experimental feeds, 24 piglets of 20 days old were assigned to two experimental groups receiving standard or experimental diet for 30 days. Blood and tissues collections were performed at four different time-points, 2, 20, 35 and 50 days post birth. The collected tissues were brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, quadriceps muscle, pancreas, spleen and stomach. The following oxidative stress markers were assessed: reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase activity, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyls (CARB) and H2O2 decomposition activity. The effect on bacterial growth was assessed by examining microbial populations in piglets’ fecal microbiota. Furthermore, the average daily gain (ADG) was calculated and the fatty acid profile of quadriceps muscle was assessed. The results showed that piglets fed with the diet supplemented with GP, had significantly increased antioxidants mechanisms in almost all the tissues as shown by increases in GSH, H2O2 decomposition activity and TAC compared with control group. Piglets fed with the experimental diet exhibited decreased oxidative stress-induced damage to lipids and proteins as shown by decreases in TBARS and CARB in GP group compared with control. In addition, the experimental diet increased significantly ADG (by 23.65%) (P<0.05) and enhanced the growth of facultative probiotic bacteria (by up to 1.2 log colony forming units (CFU)/g) (P<0.05) and lactic acid bacteria (by up to 2.0 log CFU/g) (P<0.05) in GP group compared with the control group. GP supplementation inhibited the growth of pathogen populations such as Enterobacteriacae (by up to 1.8 log CFU/g) (P<0.05) and Campylobacter jejuni (by up to 1.0 log CFU/g) (P<0.05). Regarding fatty acid composition of meat, GP inclusion in piglets’ diet increased significantly n-3 fatty acids (EPA; C20 : 5n-3, DHA; C22 : 6n-3, α-linolenic acid; C18 : 3n-3) and decreased significantly n-6/n-3 ratio compared with control (P<0.05). The results suggested that dietary GP supplementation may have a beneficial impact on piglets’ welfare and may improve productivity as well as meat quality.

A total of 216 weaning pigs were used in 2 experiments to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of yeast culture (YC) at different dose levels on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, intestinal microflora, and immune response in weanling pigs and to determine whether YC can be a candidate to replace antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). In Exp. 1, 192 pigs (7.5 ± 0.2 kg of BW) weaned at 28 d of age were randomly allotted to 6 treatments: 1) control (without AGP or YC); 2) AGP (chlortetracycline, 80 mg/kg); 3) 2.5 g/kg of YC (Diamond V XP Yeast Culture); 4) 5 g/kg of YC; 5) 10 g/kg of YC; and 6) 20 g/kg of YC. Each treatment had 8 replicated pens with 4 pigs per pen. Pigs were fed the experimental diets for 21 d. Average daily gain of pigs fed 5 g/kg of YC was greater (P < 0.05) than that of pigs in the control and other YC groups. However, there was no difference between the YC and AGP group. Pigs supplemented with 5 g/kg of YC, 10 g/kg of YC, and AGP had a greater (P < 0.01) ADFI than the control; however, G:F was not affected by treatment. Thus, 5 g/kg of YC supplementation level was chosen for Exp. 2. In Exp. 2, to elucidate the mode of action of YC, 24 nursery pigs (5.8 ± 0.1 kg of BW; 21 d of age) were randomly allotted into 3 treatments for a 21-d trial. Treatments consisted of 1) control (without AGP or YC), 2) AGP, and 3) 5 g/kg of YC. Blood samples were collected weekly to measure CD4⁺, CD8⁺ percentage, and blood cytokine content. All pigs were harvested to determine treatment effects on gut microbiota, morphology, and immune function. Dietary supplementation of 5 g/kg of YC improved (P < 0.05) ADG of pigs compared with the control group, but performance of pigs fed YC was similar to those fed AGP. Pigs receiving 5 g/kg of YC had greater (P < 0.05) digestibility of DM, CP, GE, and jejunal villus height and villus height:crypt depth ratio (P < 0.05) compared with pigs fed the control diet. However, no differences in performance, digestibility, or gut morphology were observed between pigs fed YC and AGP. Gut interferon (IFN)-γ concentrations were greater (P < 0.01) for pigs supplemented with YC compared with control pigs and pigs supplemented with AGP on d 21. However, plasma IFN-γ concentrations were decreased (P < 0.01) in pigs supplemented with YC and AGP compared with control pigs on d 7, and CD4⁺ was decreased (P < 0.01) in pigs supplemented with YC and AGP on d 14. Results indicate that dietary YC supplementation at 5 g/kg had a positive effect on growth performance of nursery pigs by improving jejunal villus height and villus height:crypt depth ratio and by modulating gut immune response. The comparable effect of 5 g/kg of YC supplementation and AGP on the growth performance of nursery pigs indicates that YC may be a good candidate as an antibiotic alternative.

The group of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) comprises monocarboxylic fatty acids containing from 6 to 12 carbon atoms. These are: caproic (C6), caprylic (C8), capric (C10), and lauric (C12) acids. They can be partly absorbed already through the stomach mucosa. Their triacylglycerols (MCT) can be absorbed intact into intestinal epithelial enterocytes and then hydrolysed by microsomal lipases. Thus they are a readily available source of energy, capable of improving the intestinal epithelial mucosal structure. They are also characterised by strong antibacterial activity due to their ability to penetrate the semi-permeable membranes of bacteria and damage their internal structures. Thanks to these properties, they could be a good supplement to weaned piglet feed. They improve piglet performance and can be used as feed antibiotic replacers.

Lactoferrin has antimicrobial activity associated with peptide fragments lactoferricin (LFC) and lactoferrampin (LFA) released on digestion. These two fragments have been expressed in Photorhabdus luminescens as a fusion peptide linked to protein cipB. The construct cipB–LFC–LFA was tested as an alternative to antimicrobial growth promoters in pig production. Sixty piglets with an average live body weight of 5·42 (sem 0·59) kg were challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and randomly assigned to four treatment groups fed a maize–soyabean meal diet containing either no addition (C), cipB at 100 mg/kg (C+B), cipB–LFC–LFA at 100 mg/kg (C+L) or colistin sulfate at 100 mg/kg (C+CS) for 3 weeks. Compared with C, dietary supplementation with C+L for 3 weeks increased daily weight gain by 21 %, increased recovery from diarrhoea, enhanced serum glutathione peroxidase (GPx), peroxidase (POD) and total antioxidant content (T-AOC), liver GPx, POD, superoxide dismutase and T-AOC, Fe, total Fe-binding capacity, IgA, IgG and IgM levels (P < 0·05), decreased the concentration of E. coli in the ileum, caecum and colon (P < 0·05), increased the concentration of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the ileum, caecum and colon (P < 0·05), and promoted development of the villus–crypt architecture of the small intestine. Growth performance was similar between C+L- and C+CS-supplemented pigs. The present results indicate that LFC–LFA is an effective alternative to the feed antibiotic CS for enhancing growth performance in piglets weaned at age 21 d.

Small intestinal epithelium homeostasis involves four principal cell types: enterocytes, goblet, enteroendocrine and Paneth cells. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been shown to affect enterocyte differentiation. This study determined the effect of dietary EGF on goblet, enteroendocrine and Paneth cell differentiation in piglet small intestine and potential mechanisms. Forty-two weaned piglets were used in a 2 × 3 factorial design; the major factors were time post-weaning (days 7 and 14) and dietary treatment (0, 200 or 400 µg/kg EGF supplementation). The numbers of goblet and enteroendocrine cells were generally greater with the increase in time post-weaning. Moreover, the supplementation of 200 µg/kg EGF increased (P < 0.01) the number of goblet and enteroendocrine cells in villus and crypt of the piglet small intestine as compared with the control. Dietary supplementation with 200 µg/kg EGF enhanced (P < 0.05) abundances of differentiation-related genes atonal homologue 1, mucin 2 and intestinal trefoil factor 3 messenger RNA (mRNA) as compared with the control. Piglets fed 200 or 400 µg/kg EGF diet had increased (P < 0.05) abundances of growth factor-independent 1, SAM pointed domain containing ETS transcription factor and pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 mRNA, but decreased the abundance (P < 0.01) of E74 like ETS transcription factor 3 mRNA as compared with the control. Animals receiving 400 µg/kg EGF diets had enhanced (P < 0.05) abundances of neurogenin3 and SRY-box containing gene 9 mRNA as compared with the control. The mRNA abundance and protein expression of lysozyme, a marker of Paneth cell, were also increased (P < 0.05) in those animals. As compared with the control, dietary supplementation with 200 µg/kg EGF increased the abundance of EGF receptor mRNA and the ratio of non-phospho(p)-β-catenin/β-catenin (P < 0.05) in villus epithelial cells at days 7 and 14. This ratio in crypt epithelial cells was higher (P < 0.05) on the both 200 and 400 µg/kg EGF groups during the same period. Our results demonstrated that dietary EGF stimulated goblet, enteroendocrine and Paneth cell differentiation in piglets during the post-weaning period, partly through EGFR and Wnt/β-catenin signalling.

Developed from a British Society of Animal Science meeting, held in September 2000, this book brings together the scientific disciplines involved in the pre- and post-weaning biology of the piglet. It concentrates on topics such as: growth/development, nutrition, immunology/health, ethology, and the physical environment.

We analysed the spatio-temporal sequence of events concerning the morphology, physiology and ecology of the gut of piglets during the 2 weeks following weaning, in order to provide a limited number of variables that could be relevant markers of the gut post-weaning changes. An experiment was conducted on sixty piglets fasted for 2 d, then administered a weaning diet with a moderate or a high content of wheat using controlled gastric feeding, and slaughtered at different time-points post-weaning. Sixty-nine variables were analysed by principal component analysis. The results showed that the temporal changes induced in the gut by weaning can be divided into two periods: an acute period happening immediately after weaning, followed after day 5 by a more progressive adaptative and maturational phase. The main factors of this adaptation were the refeeding process and the time, while the diet per se had little influence. The villus length, lactase activity, macromolecule fluxes across the jejunum and the plasma cholecystokinin were proposed as markers of the acute phase. The mass of the jejunum, the weight of the pancreas, the content of stomach, the trypsin activity and the theophylline-induced secretion in jejunum were related to the re-feeding. Markers proposed to follow the gut maturation were the maltase activity, the glucose absorption and the basal resistance in the ileum, the lactobacilli and enterococci in the colon, and the pH of colonic and caecal contents. These markers might be helpful to design suitable diets to limit post-weaning gut disorders in pigs.

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the short-term effect of supplementing a nucleotide-rich yeast extract (NRYE) on growth performance, gut structure, immunity and microflora of piglets raised under sanitary and unsanitary conditions. A total of 84, 21-day old piglets were used in this study; 42 piglets were raised in a room designated as the clean room that was washed once per week, whereas the other 42 piglets were raised in a room designated as the unclean room in which 7 kg of manure from the sow herd was spread on each pen floor on day 1 and 7 and the room was not washed throughout the experiment. The pigs were fed a corn–soybean meal-based diet without or with 0.1% NRYE. Each treatment had 7 replicate pens in each room, and each pen housed 3 pigs. Feed disappearance and BW were recorded on day 1 and 14. On day 14, one pig per pen was euthanized to collect ileum, mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen tissues, and cecum and colon digesta. Overall, NRYE supplementation did not affect growth performance in both clean and unclean conditions, improved kidney weight in both clean (P=0.0002) and unclean room (P<0.0001) and tended to improve the villus height/crypt depth ratio in the clean room (P=0.073). Supplementing NRYE was associated with upregulation of Ileal programmed cell death gene-1 (P=0.0003), interleukin (IL)-1β (P<0.0001), IL-6 (P=0.0003), IL-10 (P<0.0001) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (P<0.0001) in pigs raised in the unclean room. Supplementing the NRYE in pigs raised in the clean room suppressed growth of cecal Enterobacteriacea (P<0.0001) members and colonic Enterococcus spp. (P<0.019), improved proliferation of cecal Lactobacillus spp. (P<0.002) and colonic Clostridium cluster IV (P<0.011) and XVIa members (P<0.0002). Supplementing the NRYE in the unclean room improved proliferation of cecal Clostridium cluster IV (P<0.026) and suppressed proliferation of colonic Enterococcus spp. (P<0.037). In conclusion, supplementing the NRYE to piglets under unsanitary conditions improved ileal immune response by upregulating inflammatory cytokines, and positively modulated proliferation of beneficial gut bacteria and suppression of harmful ones in both clean and unclean rooms.