Abstract
Weanling piglets often develop respiratory diseases such as pneumonia because they encounter substantial environmental stress. This study investigated an alternative herbal feed additive, Guizhi Li-Zhong Tang (GLZ), for preventing pneumonia in weanling piglets. An in vitro experiment demonstrated that GLZ has high antioxidant capacity and low cytotoxicity toward Kupffer cells. In addition, GLZ treatment can alleviate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced damage in Kupffer cells. A total of 94 4-week-old piglets were randomly divided into three groups, which received sham treatment, 0.2% Tilmicosin antibiotic (TAB) treatment, or 0.2% GLZ treatment. Piglets receiving the GLZ treatment had a higher survival rate and higher immunoglobulin G levels but lower allergy-related eosinophil levels and cough incidence than did piglets receiving the sham or 0.2% TAB treatments. Through immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis, we discovered that piglets receiving the 0.2% GLZ treatment had significantly higher expression of antioxidant-related SOD2 and lower expression of oxidative-stress-related 3-NT (p < 0.01), inflammation-related TNF-α (p < 0.01) and NF-κB (p < 0.05), and apoptosis-related caspase-3 (p < 0.01) in lung tissue than did piglets receiving the sham or 0.2% TAB treatment. Therefore, GLZ treatment is promising as an alternative to antibiotic medicine for weanling piglets because of its protective antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects in lung tissue.
Highlights
Respiratory diseases in pigs are a major health problem in animal husbandry
We previously discovered that Guizhi Li-Zhong Tang (GLZ) could be used as an alternative feed additive to significantly reduce angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) expression in the lung tissue of piglets as compared with sham or antibiotic treatments [20]
Antioxidative Capacity and Kupffer Cell Viability. e antioxidant capacity and cytotoxicity of GLZ were determined through DPPH and MTT assays, respectively
Summary
Respiratory diseases in pigs are a major health problem in animal husbandry. Porcine respiratory diseases are usually the result of both primary and opportunistic infectious agents [1]. Porcine respiratory disease syndrome is an economically significant respiratory disease characterized by reduced feed efficiency, slow growth, cough, fever, and difficulty breathing [2]. Respiratory disease in pigs often results in pneumonia complicated by opportunistic bacterial infections. Oxidative stress is key for the development and progression of pneumonia because of the release of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) from alveolar macrophages and neutrophils in inflammatory lung tissue [3, 4]. ROSs cause the oxidation of proteins, DNA, and lipids, possibly leading to lung injury. Increased oxidative stress accompanied by reduced endogenous antioxidant defenses may cause inflammatory pulmonary diseases such as asthma
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