Abstract
Simple SummaryDeoxynivalenol (DON) is the most common mycotoxin contaminant in the agriculture industry worldwide. Copper is very efficacious in promoting growth performance and improving feed remuneration, and baicalin may alleviate oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in humans and animals. We speculated that the combined effect of baicalin and copper would have some effect in DON-challenged piglets. The present study examined the effects of a baicalin-copper complex on inflammatory responses, hormone secretion, and gut microbiota in DON challenged piglets. These findings provide new application prospects in piglets involving the combination of baicalin and copper.The present experiment assessed the inflammatory responses, hormone secretion, and gut microbiota of weanling piglets administered baicalin-copper complex (BCU) or deoxynivalenol (DON) supplementation diets. Twenty-eight piglets were randomly assigned to four groups: control diet (Con group), a 4 mg DON/kg diet (DON group), a 5 g BCU/kg diet (BCU group), a 5 g BCU + 4 mg DON/kg diet (DBCU group). After 14 days, the results showed that dietary BCU supplementation remarkably increased the relative abundance of Clostrium bornimense and decreased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the DBCU group (p < 0.05). BCU decreased the serum concentration of IgG, IL-2, IFN-γ, and IgA in DON treated piglets (p < 0.05), and promoted the serum concentration of IL-1β, IgG, IL-2, IFN-γ, IgA, IL-6, IgM, and TNFα in normal piglets (p < 0.05). BCU increased the concentrations of serum IGF1, insulin, NPY, GLP-1, and GH, and decreased the concentrations of serum somatostatin in no DON treated piglets (p < 0.05). Dietary BCU supplementation significantly promoted the secretion of somatostatin, and inhibited the secretion of leptin in piglets challenged with DON (p < 0.05). BCU regulated the expression of food intake-related genes in the hypothalamus and pituitary of piglets. Collectively, dietary BCU supplementation alleviated inflammatory responses and regulated the secretion of appetite-regulating hormones and growth-axis hormones in DON challenged piglets, which was closely linked to changes of intestinal microbes.
Highlights
The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is primarily produced by Fusarium spp., and it is commonly found in cereals [1,2,3]
The rank abundance curve shows that the DON group had the most abundant microbial composition and the highest uniformity, followed by the DBCU group
DON leads to changesininhuman the composition of Abundant scientific evidence shows that leads to changes in the composition of the the intestinal microbiota, stimulates the immune system, and induces the secretion of gut hormones, intestinal microbiota, stimulates the immune via system, and induces secretion of gut hormones, which act on the pituitary and hypothalamus the brain–gut axis, the resulting in decreased appetite which act on the pituitary and hypothalamus via the brain–gut axis, resulting in decreased and growth retardation in humans and animals[28]
Summary
The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is primarily produced by Fusarium spp., and it is commonly found in cereals [1,2,3]. DON is the most common mycotoxin contaminant in agriculture industry worldwide [4]. Low-dose DON ingestion in humans and animals causes growth retardation, metabolic disorders, and inflammatory responses, and high-dose DON exposure leads to vomiting, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal bleeding [6,7,8,9]. Previous research showed that DON induced growth retardation may be related to interference with hormone secretion and immune responses [10,11,12,13]. It is necessary to maintain the intestinal microbiota balance, ameliorate inflammatory responses, and regulate hormone secretion to promote the growth performance of DON challenged piglets
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