Impact of maternal live yeast supplementation to sows on intestinal inflammatory cytokine expression and tight junction proteins in suckling and weanling piglets.

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of maternal nutrition during gestation and lactation in modulating the gastrointestinal development and health of offspring. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of live yeast (LY) supplementation to sows during late gestation and throughout lactation on markers of gut health of piglets prior to weaning and immediately postweaning. On day 77 of gestation, forty sows were allotted based on parity and expected farrowing dates to two dietary treatments: without (CON) or with (LY) supplementation at 0.05% and 0.1% of diet during gestation and lactation, respectively. On postnatal days (PND) 0, 10, 18, and postweaning days (PWD) 7 and 14, one piglet from each of 10 sows per treatment were selected for intestinal tissue collection (n = 10). Real-time PCR and western blotting analyses were used to determine the mucosal expression of immune and antioxidant-regulatory genes and tight junction markers of gut health in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Inflammatory and tight junction markers on PND 0 were not affected by maternal dietary treatment. On PND 18, maternal LY supplementation increased (P < 0.05) mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-6 and tended (P = 0.08) to increase expression of IL-10 in the ileal muocsa. Maternal LY supplementation also increased (P < 0.05) expression of IL-1ß in the ileal mucosa on PWD 14. Likewise, expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) 1 was increased (P < 0.05) by LY on PND 10, 18, and PWD 14, with a tendency (P = 0.09) for a greater mRNA abundance of catalase on PND 14 in the ileal mucosa. Compared to CON piglets, LY piglets had a higher (P < 0.05) protein abundance of E-cadherin in the jejunal mucosa on PND 0, PWD 7, and PWD 14. Levels of occludin and claudin-4 were also higher (P < 0.05) in the jejunum of LY piglets on PWD 14. No differences were found in jejunal histomorphological measurements between treatments. In conclusion, this study shows that maternal LY supplementation affects key markers of gut health and development in the offspring that may impact the future growth potential and health of newborn piglets.

Increasing evidence supports the benefits of improving sow nutrition during gestation and lactation to promote gastrointestinal development and overall health of piglets. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of maternal live yeast (LY) supplementation to sows during late gestation and lactation periods on the intestinal health of suckling and weaned piglets. Sows were fed LY during gestation and lactation and piglets were killed for sampling at different time points to track the temporal effect of maternal LY supplementation on changes in markers of intestinal health and development on postnatal days 0, 10, and 18, and postweaning days 7 and 14. Results showed that maternal LY supplementation affected several markers of health and development in the offspring, especially the expression of tight junction proteins, inflammatory cytokines, and antioxidant enzymes. These results indicate that nutritional intervention during gestation and lactation could serve as an effective strategy for raising piglets with better health and growth performance.

Inulin supplementation induces expression of hypothalamic antioxidant defence genes in weaned piglets.

Fibre plays an important role in diluting dietary energy density. Fibre is also implicated in the regulation of appetite, perhaps through direct effects in the brain. However, there is little information on this effect in pigs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of fibre type in regulating the expression of genes involved in appetite control, inflammation and antioxidant defence in the hypothalamus of weaned piglets. A total of 64 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire barrows at 37 days old were blocked by body weight and allotted to two dietary treatments, supplementation with either 0.25% cellulose (Solka-Floc) or inulin (INU) for 28 days, after which animals were killed for analysis. Pigs fed INU had a tendency (p = 0.06) for reduced feed intake in the first week, although this effect disappeared in subsequent weeks. Pigs supplemented with INU had lower expression of dopamine (dopamine receptor D2), serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1B), free fatty acid (GPR43) and neuropeptide Y receptor Y2 receptors in the hypothalamus (p < 0.05). Expression of the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 gene in the hypothalamus also tended (p = 0.09) to be lower for pigs fed INU. The abundance of antioxidant defence genes, superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and catalase, were greater (p < 0.05) but that of a proinflammatory gene, interleukin 1ß, was lower (p < 0.05) in the hypothalamus of pigs fed INU. Therefore, consumption of INU causes downregulation of inflammation in the hypothalamus and regulation of the abundance of serotonin or dopamine receptors, and may also increase antioxidant defence through upregulation of SOD and catalase in weaned piglets.

Effect of a carbohydrase admixture in growing pigs fed wheat-based diets in thermoneutral and heat stress conditions.

The efficacy of exogenous carbohydrases in pig diets has been suggested to depend on enzyme activity and dietary fiber composition, but recent evidence suggests other factors such as ambient temperature might be important as well. Therefore, we investigated the effect of heat stress (HS) on the efficacy of a multienzyme carbohydrase blend in growing pigs. Ninety-six (barrows: gilts; 1:1) growing pigs with initial body weight (BW) of 20.15 ± 0.18 kg were randomly assigned to six treatments, with eight replicates of two pigs per pen in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement: three levels of carbohydrase (0, 1X, or 2X) at two environmental temperatures (20 °C or cyclical 28 °C nighttime and 35 °C day time). The 1X dose (50 g/tonne) provided 1,250 viscosimetry unit (visco-units) endo-ß-1,4-xylanase, 4,600 units α-l-arabinofuranosidase and 860 visco-units endo-1,3(4)-ß-glucanase per kilogram of feed. Pigs were fed ad libitum for 28 d and 1 pig per pen was sacrificed on day 28. There was no enzyme × temperature interaction on any response criteria; thus, only main effects are reported. Enzyme treatment quadratically increased (P < 0.05) BW on day 28, average daily gain (ADG) (P < 0.05), and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P < 0.05) with the 1X level being highest. HS reduced the BW at day 14 (P < 0.01) and day 28 (P < 0.01), ADG (P < 0.01), and ADFI (P<0.001). There was a trend of increased feed efficiency (G:F) (P < 0.1) in the HS pigs. HS increased apparent jejunal digestibility of energy (P < 0.05) and apparent ileal digestibility of calcium (P < 0.01). At day 1, HS reduced serum glucose (P < 0.001) but increased nonesterified fatty acid (P < 0.01). In the jejunum, there was a trend of increased villi height by carbohydrases (P < 0.1), whereas HS reduced villi height (P < 0.05). HS increased the jejunal mRNA abundance of IL1ß in the jejunum (P < 0.001). There was a trend for a reduction in ileal MUC2 (P < 0.1) and occludin (P < 0.1) by HS, and a trend for increased PEPT1 (P < 0.1). There was no effect of HS on alpha diversity and beta diversity of the fecal microbiome, but there was an increase in the abundance of pathogenic bacteria in the HS group. In conclusion, HS did not alter the efficacy of carbohydrases. This suggests that carbohydrases and HS modulate pig performance independently.

Determination of net energy content of dietary lipids fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry.

The objective of this experiment was to determine the NE content of different dietary lipids fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry. Thirty-six growing (initial BW: 41.1 ± 3.1 kg) barrows were allotted to 6 diets based on completely randomized design with 6 replicate pigs per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and 5 test diets each containing 10% palm oil, poultry fat, fish oil, corn oil, or flaxseed oil at the expense of corn and soybean meal. During each period, pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 14 d, which included 7 d for adaptation to feed, metabolism crates, and environmental conditions. On day 8, pigs were transferred to the open-circuit respiration chambers and fed 1 of the 6 diets at 2.3 MJ ME/kg BW0.6/day. Total feces and urine were collected and daily heat production (HP) was also calculated from day 9 to day 13. On the last day of each period (day 14), pigs were fasted and the fasting heat production (FHP) was measured. The results show that the FHP of pigs averaged 809 kJ/kg BW0.6·day-1 and was not affected by diet characteristics. The DE values were 35.98, 36.84, 37.11, 38.95, and 38.38 MJ/kg DM, the ME values were 35.79, 36.56, 36.92, 37.73, and 38.11 MJ/kg DM, and the NE values were 32.42, 33.21, 33.77, 34.00, and 34.12 MJ/kg DM, for the palm oil, poultry fat, fish oil, corn oil, and flaxseed oil, respectively. Based on our result, we concluded that the DE content of dietary lipid varied from 91% to 98% of its GE content, the ME content of dietary lipid was approximately 99% of its DE content, and the NE content of dietary lipid was approximately 90% of its ME content in growing pigs.

Determination of net energy content of soybean oil fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry.

The objectives of this experiment were: (i) to determine the net energy (NE) of soybean oil (SBO) fed to growing pigs using indirect calorimetry (IC); and (ii) to evaluate the effects of inclusion rate of SBO on heat production, oxidative status and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs. Eighteen growing barrows were allotted to three diets based on completely randomized design with six replicate pigs (period) per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean meal basal diet and two test diets containing 5% or 10% SBO at the expense of corn and soybean meal. During each period, pigs were individually housed in metabolism crates for 14 days, including 7 days to adapt to feed, metabolism crate and environmental conditions. On day 8, pigs were transferred to the open-circuit respiration chambers for measurement of daily O2 consumption and CO2 and CH4 production. During this time, pigs were fed one of the three diets at 2.4 MJ metabolizable energy/kg body weight (BW)0.6 /day. Total feces and urine were collected and daily total heat production (THP) was measured from days 9 to 13 and fasted on day 14 to evaluate their fasting heat production (FHP). The results show that trends of decreased apparent total tract digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (linear, P = 0.09) and acid detergent fiber (linear, P = 0.07) were observed as the content of dietary lipids increased. The average THP for the three diets were 1326, 1208 and 1193 kJ/kg BW0.6 /day, respectively. The FHP of pigs averaged 843 kJ/kg BW0.6 /day and was not affected by diet characteristics. A reduction of the respiratory quotients in the fed state as the inclusion level of SBO increased was observed. In conclusion, the NE values of SBO we determined by indirect calorimetry were 33.45 and 34.05 MJ/kg dry matter under two inclusion levels. THP could be largely reduced when SBO is added in the feed, but the THP of SBO included at 5% in a corn-soybean meal diet is not different from the THP of SBO included at 10%.