Abstract
Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a natural polyphenol that possesses potent antioxidant activity. However, little is known about its exact role in regulating the intestinal health under oxidative stress. This study was conducted to explore the effect of dietary CGA supplementation on intestinal barrier functions in weaned pigs upon oxidative stress. Twenty-four weaned pigs were allocated to three treatments and were given a basal diet (control) or basal diet containing CGA (1,000 mg/kg) for 21 days. Pigs were challenged by sterile saline (control) or diquat [10 mg/kg body weight (BW)] on the 15th day. Results showed that CGA attenuated the BW reduction, reduced the serum concentrations of diamine oxidase and D-lactate, and elevated serum antioxidant enzymes activities in diquat-challenged weaned pigs (P < 0.05). Moreover, diquat challenge decreased villus height and activities of sucrase and alkaline phosphatase in jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05), but CGA elevated the villus height and enzyme activities in the intestinal mucosa (P < 0.05). In addition, CGA not only decreased the expression levels of Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 (P < 0.05) but also elevated the expression levels of sodium glucose transport protein-1, glucose transporter-2, occludin, claudin-1, zonula occludens-1, and antioxidant genes such as nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor 2 and heme oxygenase-1 in intestinal mucosa of weaned pigs upon oxidative stress (P < 0.05). These findings suggested that CGA can attenuate oxidative stress-induced growth retardation and intestinal mucosa disruption, which was linked to elevated antioxidative capacity and enhanced intestinal barrier integrity.
Highlights
The intestinal mucosa plays as one of the key barriers in living organisms
Diquat challenge resulted in a 44.42% reduction of average daily feed intake (ADFI) and a 86.18% decrease of average daily weight gain (ADG) compared with the CON pigs (P < 0.05)
Oxidative stress could lead to overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which would damage the integrity of intestinal barrier by disrupting the tight junction and triggering apoptosis of intestinal epithelium [15, 17]
Summary
The intestinal mucosa plays as one of the key barriers in living organisms. It is mainly composed of intestinal epithelial cells and intercellular tight junctions of enterocytes, which plays a critical role in nutrient absorption and constitutes the first line of defense against various pathogens and toxins in the intestinal lumen [1, 2]. Oxidative stress, as a result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) overexpression, is a common feature of many chronic and acute intestinal diseases [3] CGA has been reported to alleviate intestinal ischaemia and reperfusion injury by improving the antioxidant activities and ameliorate endotoxin-induced intestinal injury in rats [10, 11]. These attributes should make it an attractive health product for various oxidative stress-induced injuries and diseases. CGA was found to improve growth performance and intestinal health through elevating the activities of antioxidant enzymes in weaned pigs [12]. This study will assist in developing of CGA to attenuate various oxidative stressinduced injury or diseases
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