Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the positive effects of dietary supplementation with l-arginine (Arg) on piglets fed a deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated diet. A total of eighteen, 28-day-old healthy weanling pigs were randomly assigned into one of three groups: uncontaminated basal diet (control group), 6 mg/kg DON-contaminated diet (DON group) and 6 mg/kg DON + 1% l-arginine (DON + ARG group). After 21 days of Arg supplementation, piglets in the DON and DON + ARG groups were challenged by feeding 6 mg/kg DON-contaminated diet for seven days. The results showed that DON resulted in damage to piglets. However, clinical parameters, including jejunal morphology, amino acid concentrations in the serum, jejunum and ileum, were improved by Arg (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the mRNA levels for sodium-glucose transporter-1 (SGLT-1), glucose transporter type-2 (GLUT-2) and y+l-type amino acid transporter-1 (y+LAT-1) were downregulated in the DON group, but the values were increased in the DON + ARG group (p < 0.05). Collectively, these results indicate that dietary supplementation with Arg exerts a protective role in pigs fed DON-contaminated diets.
Highlights
Fusarium infection of wheat, barley and corn with concurrent production of deoxynivalenol (DON)and other trichothecene mycotoxins is an increasingly important food safety issue worldwide [1,2].Many published papers show the toxic effects of DON on animals, mainly impairing the immune system and the health status of the gastrointestinal tract and the brain [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Results are expressed as the means ±standard error of the mean (SEM) for six animals
Other groups had lower mRNA levels for glucose transporter type-2 (GLUT-2) and y+L-type amino acid transporter-1 (y+LAT-1), but only slight differences in y+LAT-1 mRNA expression were detected between the control and DON + ARG groups
Summary
Barley and corn with concurrent production of deoxynivalenol (DON). Many published papers show the toxic effects of DON on animals, mainly impairing the immune system and the health status of the gastrointestinal tract and the brain [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. The intestine is responsible primarily for digestion and absorption of dietary nutrients, as well as excluding potential pathogens and toxins [5]. Arg benefits mucosal microcirculation and absorption [12,13,14]. According to the understanding of DON toxicology and the biological function of Arg, we hypothesized that dietary Arg may alleviate the functional impairment of intestine brought about by DON in weanling piglets
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