Abstract
This study aimed to compare the effects of BaSC06 and antibiotics on growth, digestive functions, antioxidant capacity, macrophage polarization, and intestinal microbiota of pigs for fattening. A total of 117 pigs for fattening with similar weight and genetic basis were divided into 3 groups: Anti group (containing 40 g/t Kitasamycin in the diet), Anti+Ba group (containing 20 g/t Kitasamycin and 0.5 × 108 CFU/kg BaSC06 in the diet) and Ba group (containing 1 × 108 cfu/Kg BaSC06 in the diet without any antibiotics). Each treatment was performed in three replicates with 13 pigs per replicate. Results showed that BaSC06 replacement significantly improved the ADG (P < 0.05), intestinal digestion and absorption function by increasing the activity of intestinal digestive enzymes and the expression of glucose transporters SGLT1 (P < 0.05) and small peptide transporters PEPT1 (P < 0.05). Besides, BaSC06 supplementation enhanced intestinal and body antioxidant capacity by activating the Nrf2/Keap1 antioxidant signaling pathway due to the increased expression of p-Nrf2 (P < 0.05). Notably, BaSC06 alleviated intestinal inflammation by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-8, IL-6, and MCP1 (P < 0.05), and simultaneously increasing the expression of M1 macrophage marker protein iNOS (P < 0.05) and M2 macrophage marker protein Arg (P < 0.05) in the intestinal mucosa. Moreover, BaSC06 promoted the polarization of macrophages to M2 phenotype by stimulating the STAT3 signaling pathway. It was also noted that BaSC06 improved microbiota composition by enhancing the proportion of Firmicutes, and reducing that of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. Taken together, our results indicate that dietary supplementation of BaSC06 in pigs for fattening improves the growth, mucosal structure, antioxidative capacity, immune functions (including increasing M1 and M2 polarization of macrophage) and composition of intestinal microbiota, which is much better than antibiotics, suggesting that it is an effective alternative to antibiotics in the preparation of pig feed.
Highlights
There is growing evidence that antibiotic resistance in humans is promoted by the extensive use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in animals leading to residues of antibiotics in animal products such as meat and milk [1]
Compared with the Anti group, Average daily gain (ADG) in the Ba group significantly increased (P < 0.05) (Table 2), and Average daily feed intake (ADFI) in the Anti+Ba group and Ba group showed an upward trend though the change was not significant
The crypt depth in the Anti+Ba group and Ba group showed no significant change compared to the Anti group (P > 0.05), while villi/the depth of the crypt (V/C) had an insignificant positive trend
Summary
There is growing evidence that antibiotic resistance in humans is promoted by the extensive use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in animals leading to residues of antibiotics in animal products such as meat and milk [1]. The drug resistance menace caused by the abuse of antibiotics in the animal husbandry industry has been a major societal concern in recent years. The Ministry of Agriculture of People’s Republic of China (PRC) recently issued an “anti-drug feeding prohibition” (Announcement No 194) explicitly prohibiting the use of feed additives containing growth-promoting antibiotics from January 1 in 2020. The most important issue facing the animal husbandry industry is the intestinal health of livestock and the quest for suitable antibiotic substitutes. Antibiotic substitutions such as probiotics, prebiotics, plant extracts, and organic acids, will be widely used in the animal husbandry industry [3, 4]
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