Effects of phytase and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 supplementation on growth performance and bone development in weaned piglets in Ca- and P-deficient dietary.

BACKGROUND: The beneficial function of phytase and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (HyD) on the feed utilization rate has been widely investigated. However, studies concerning its influence on weaned piglets largely lag behind. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of phytase and HyD supplementation on the growth performance and bone development in weaned piglets under dietary Ca and P deficiency. RESULTS: The results showed that dietary Ca and P deficiency decreased (P < 0.05) the content of serum P in 6-10 kg piglets, as well as reducing (P < 0.05) the contents of serum Ca and P, average daily gain (ADG), bone mineral density (BMD), breaking force (BF), bone ash and femur Ca in 10-20 kg piglets. Compared with the control group, the feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) of 6-10 kg piglets in the Phy group was decreased (P < 0.05), whereas the ADG, blood Ca and P, BMD, BF, bone ash, P apparent digestibility, Ca and P retention rate of 10-20 kg piglets were increased (P < 0.05). The contents of serum osteocalcin and HyD in 6-10 kg piglets and ADG were higher than in the control group (P < 0.05), as well as the contents of serum Ca and HyD in 10-20 kg piglets in the HyD treatment group. Supplementation with both Phy and HyD decreased the F/D (P < 0.05) and increased the contents of serum Ca, P and HyD in 6-10 kg piglets as well as enhancing the ADG, BMD, BF, bone ash, femur Ca and P, serum Ca and P, HyD, and the apparent digestibility and retention of Ca and P (P < 0.05) in 10-20 kg piglets. Supplementation with Phy and HyD in Ca- and P-deficient dietary decreased bone resorption, and improved tight arrangement of collagen fibers and oblique fibers in weaned piglets. CONCLUSION: These data indicated that supplementation with both 1500 U kg-1 Phy and 50 µg kg-1 HyD could enhance dietary Ca and P utilization and promote bone development in low Ca and P dietary, and supplementation with both Phy and HyD had a significant synergy effect compared to single supplement. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Dietary L-arginine supplementation enhances placental growth and reproductive performance in sows.

Suboptimal embryonic/fetal survival and growth remains a significant problem in mammals. Using a swine model, we tested the hypothesis that dietary L-arginine supplementation during gestation may improve pregnancy outcomes through enhancing placental growth and modulating hormonal secretions. Gestating pigs (Yorkshire×Landrace, n=108) were assigned randomly into two groups based on parity and body weight, representing dietary supplementation with 1.0% L-arginine-HCl or 1.7% L-alanine (isonitrogenous control) between days 22 and 114 of gestation. Blood samples were obtained from the ear vein on days 22, 40, 70 and 90 of gestation. On days 40, 70 and 90 of gestation, concentrations of estradiol in plasma were higher (P<0.05) in arginine-supplemented than in control sows. Moreover, arginine supplementation increased (P<0.05) the concentrations of arginine, proline and ornithine in plasma, but concentrations of urea or progesterone in plasma did not differ between the two groups of sows. Compared with the control, arginine supplementation increased (P<0.05) the total number of piglets by 1.31 per litter, the number of live-born piglets by 1.10 per litter, the litter birth weight for all piglets by 1.36 kg, and the litter birth weight for live-born piglets by 1.70 kg. Furthermore, arginine supplementation enhanced (P<0.05) placental weight by 16.2%. The weaning-to-estrus interval of sows was not affected by arginine supplementation during gestation. These results indicate that dietary arginine supplementation beneficially enhances placental growth and the reproductive performance of sows.

Relationship between proteome changes of Longissimus muscle and intramuscular fat content in finishing pigs fed conjugated linoleic acid.

The present experiment was conducted to determine proteome changes in Longissimus muscle of finishing pigs fed conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), in association with alteration of intramuscular fat content. Previously, seventy-two Duroc × Landrace × Large White gilts (approximately 60 kg) had been fed maize­soyabean meal-based diets with 0, 12·5 and 25 g CLA/kg diet. The CLA contained 369·1 mg/g cis-9, trans-11 CLA, 374·6 mg/g trans-10, cis-12 CLA and 53·7 mg/g other isomers. Six pigs per treatment were slaughtered when they reached a body weight of approximately 100 kg. Data published from a previous experiment demonstrated that supplementation with 12·5 or 25 g CLA/kg diet increased intramuscular fat content (P < 0·05). The present study investigated the proteome changes in Longissimus muscle of control and pigs supplemented with 25 g CLA/kg diet. CLA significantly influenced the abundance of proteins related to energy metabolism, fatty acid oxidation and synthesis, amino acid metabolism, defence, transport and other miscellaneous processes (P < 0·05). The increase in intramuscular fat content was positively correlated with the increased abundance of carbonic anhydrase 3 and aspartate aminotransferase (P < 0·05). We suggest that the proteome changes in Longissimus muscle contributed to greater intramuscular lipid content in CLA-supplemented pigs.

Dietary arginine supplementation enhances antioxidative capacity and improves meat quality of finishing pigs.

The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that dietary arginine supplementation may improve meat quality of finishing pigs. Beginning at approximately 60 kg body weight, pigs were fed a corn- and soybean meal-based diet supplemented with 0, 0.5 or 1% L-arginine until they reached a body weight of approximately 110 kg. On the last day of the experiment, pigs were food-deprived for 16 h before blood samples were obtained for analysis of amino acids, insulin, and other metabolites. Immediately thereafter, pigs were slaughtered for determination of carcass composition, muscle biochemical parameters, and meat quality. The result showed that arginine did not affect pig growth performance or carcass traits. However, 1% arginine decreased drip loss of pork muscle at 48 h postmortem, while increasing intramuscular fat content (P < 0.05). Supplementing 0.5 or 1% arginine to the diet increased arginine concentration and decreased cortisol level in serum, while enhancing antioxidative capacity and glutathione peroxidase activity in serum (P < 0.05). Additionally, 1% arginine increased antioxidative capacity in skeletal muscle (P < 0.05). Furthermore, 0.5 or 1% arginine decreased the cortisol receptor mRNA level in muscle (P < 0.05). Collectively, these results indicate that supplemental arginine improved meat quality and attenuated oxidative stress of finishing pigs.

Dietary supplementation with a high dose of daidzein enhances the antioxidant capacity in swine muscle but experts pro-oxidant function in liver and fat tissues.

BACKGROUND: Although isoflavones are natural dietary antioxidants, they may have toxicological effects. This study aimed to evaluate the redox system in tissues of finishing pigs by supplementation with high dose of daidzein (640 mg/kg). RESULTS: The supplementation of high dose of daidzein for 64 d increased the activity of superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity in longissimus muscle but down-regulated the expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-producing enzyme NADPH oxidase-2 and cyclooxygenase-2. In contrast, high-level supplementation with daidzein exerted pro-oxidant changes in back fat, abdominal fat, liver, and plasma, as reflected by increased contents of malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation product, in these tissues. Furthermore, daidzein supplementation resulted in higher expression of ROS-producing enzymes, including NADPH oxidase-1 and cyclooxygenase-1 in liver, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) in backfat and NADPH oxidase-2 both in abdominal fat and backfat. The supplementation of daidzein did not affect meat quality parameters in longissimus muscle, including marbling score, eye muscle areas, intramuscular fat, shear force, drip loss, pH and meat color. CONCLUSIONS: This experiment suggests that dietary supplementation of finishing pigs with daidzein at a high dose level improves redox status in muscle but exerts pro-oxidant effect in liver and fat tissues.

Heat stress impairs the nutritional metabolism and reduces the productivity of egg-laying ducks.

This research was conducted to determine the effect of heat stress on the nutritional metabolism and productivity of egg-laying shelducks. Healthy shelducks (n=120) in the early laying stage (uniform body weights and normal feed intakes) were randomly assigned to two identical climate chambers and exposed to constant high temperature (34°C) or control temperature (23°C) for 28d. The heat-exposed ducks had reduced feed intakes and laying rates (P<0.05), increased frequency of panting and spreading wings and dull featheration; egg weight, eggshell thickness and strength, and Haugh unit also decreased and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of egg yolk increased (P<0.05). Compared with the control ducks, the plasma concentrations of HCO3(-), phosphorus, glucose, thyroxine and activities of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase were decreased, while there were increased concentrations of corticosterone (P<0.05). The content of MDA and lactate in plasma and liver was greater in heat-exposed than in control ducks, but superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total antioxidant enzymes (T-AOC) activities and glutathione (GSH) contents were less. The expression of HSP70 gene expression in the liver was increased in heat-stressed ducks. The relative weight of oviduct, number of large ovarian follicles, length of the oviduct all decreased (P<0.05) in heat-treated ducks, as did expression of carbonic anhydrase and calcium binding protein genes in the shell gland as a result of heat stress. In summary, heat stress decreased the productivity of ducks, which related to reduced feed intake, protein synthesis, endocrine dysfunction, less antioxidant capacity, and derangement of calcium and phosphorous balance.

Regulation of protein turnover by L-glutamine in porcine intestinal epithelial cells.

L-Glutamine (Gln) plays an important role in sustaining the intestinal mucosal mass of humans and animals. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that Gln regulates protein turnover in intestinal epithelial cells. Intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-1) were cultured for 3 h (short-term study) or 96 h (long-term study) in Gln-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle-F12 Ham medium containing 0, 0.5 or 2.0 mM Gln. To determine effects of ammonia (a metabolite of Gln, i.e., 0.18 mM ammonia produced from 2 mM Gln in 3 h) on protein turnover, additional experiments were conducted in which medium contained 0.5 mM Gln and 0, 0.2, 0.5 or 2.0 mM NH(4)Cl. Variables of analysis included cell growth, protein synthesis, proteolysis and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. IPEC-1 cell growth increased with extracellular Gln concentrations. Compared with 0 mM Gln, the addition of 0.5 and 2 mM Gln to medium stimulated protein synthesis and inhibited protein degradation in those cells in both the short- and long-term studies. Ammonia (0.05 to 2.0 mM) did not affect protein synthesis, although higher levels of ammonia (0.5 and 2.0 mM) reduced protein degradation in IPEC-1 cells. Consistent with the data on protein turnover, 0.5 and 2 mM Gln increased abundance of phosphorylated eIF4E-binding protein-1 and phosphorylated S6 kinase-1 proteins. Collectively, these results demonstrate that physiological levels of Gln regulate protein turnover independent of ammonia production in intestinal cells through the mTOR signaling pathway.

Regulation of protein metabolism by glutamine: implications for nutrition and health.

Glutamine is the most abundant free alpha-amino acid in plasma and skeletal muscle. This nutrient plays an important role in regulating gene expression, protein turnover, anti-oxidative function, nutrient metabolism, immunity, and acid-base balance. Interestingly, intracellular and extracellular concentrations of glutamine exhibit marked reductions in response to infection, sepsis, severe burn, cancer, and other pathological factors. This raised an important question of whether glutamine may be a key mediator of muscle loss and negative nitrogen balance in critically ill and injured patients. Therefore, since the initial reports in late 1980s that glutamine could stimulate protein synthesis and inhibit proteolysis in rat skeletal muscle, there has been growing interest in the use of this functional amino acid to improve protein balance under various physiological and disease conditions. Although inconsistent results have appeared in the literature regarding a therapeutic role of glutamine in clinical medicine, a majority of studies indicate that supplementing appropriate doses of glutamine to enteral diets or parenteral solutions is beneficial for improving nitrogen balance in animals or humans with glutamine deficiency.

Effects of dietary selenomethionine supplementation on growth performance, meat quality and antioxidant property in yellow broilers.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary selenomethionine (Se-Met) supplementation on growth performance, meat quality and antioxidant property in male broilers. A total of 800 43-day-old Lingnan yellow male broilers were randomly allotted to 5 dietary treatments with four replicates of 40 birds for a period of 3 weeks ad libitum. Final BW and weight gain of birds significantly increased by Se-Met supplementation at the 0.225 mg/kg level (P < 0.05). The addition of Se-Met significantly decreased drip loss, lightness value, and elevated pH value of meat (p < 0.05). Adding sodium selenite (SS) only increased pH value of meat (p < 0.05). In plasma, supplemental Se-Met at 0.225 mg/kg level increased total antioxidant capability (T-AOC), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), catalase (CAT) activities, glutathione (GSH) concentration (p < 0.05), and decreased malondialdehyde production (p < 0.05), compared with the control and broilers fed SS diet. In breast muscle, the addition of Se-Met significantly elevated T-AOC, GPX, T-SOD, CAT activities, contents of metallothionein and GSH (p < 0.05), and reduced carbonyl protein content (p < 0.05). While compared with broilers fed SS diet, supplemental 0.225 mg/kg Se-Met increased T-AOC, GPX, CAT activities, and GSH content (p < 0.05). Therefore, dietary Se-Met supplementation could improve growth performance and meat quality by enhancing antioxidative capacity in broilers compared with SS.