Lycium barbarum Polysaccharides as Antibiotic Substitutes Improve Growth Performance, Serum Immunity, Antioxidant Status, and Intestinal Health for Weaned Piglets.

Bie Tan,Zhe Yang,Fang Wang,Yulong Yin,Yexin Yin,Jiashun Chen,Mei Yang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.819993

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of dietary Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) supplementation on the growth performance, immune response, serum antioxidant status, and intestinal health of weaned piglets. In total, 24 crossed healthy weaned piglets [Duroc × (Yorkshire × Landrace)], of similar body weight (7.47 ± 0.22 kg), were randomly allocated to three treatment groups: CON (basal diet); LBPs (basal diet plus 4,000 mg/kg LBPs); and antibiotic (ABO, basal diet plus 20 mg/kg flavomycin and 50 mg/kg quinocetone). There were eight pigs per group. The study lasted 28 days. When compared with CON, LBPs or ABO dietary supplementation increased average daily gain (P < 0.05), decreased the ratio of feed to gain and the diarrhea ratio (P < 0.05). Similarly, when compared with CON, LBPs dietary supplementation increased serum immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin M, interleukin-10, interleukin-2, and tumor necrosis factor-α levels (P < 0.05). Dietary LBPs enhanced the activity of serum total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase, and decreased malondialdehyde levels (P < 0.05). Principal component analysis showed a distinct separation between CON and LBPs groups, but no differences between ABO and LBPs groups. LBPs addition increased Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium (P < 0.05) levels, while it decreased Enterococcaceae and Enterobacteriaceae (P < 0.05) levels. Furthermore, when compared with the CON group, LBPs increased villus height (P < 0.05) and the villus height to crypt depth ratio in the duodenum and jejunum (P < 0.05). Thus, dietary supplementation with LBPs improved growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immunity, regulated intestinal microbial composition, and may be used as an efficient antibiotic alternative in weaned piglet feed.

Highlights

Weaning increases intestinal permeability and reduces antioxidant capacity and immunity, which reduces feed intake, and increases diarrhea incidence, morbidity, and mortality (Hu et al, 2013; Yin et al, 2014)
As shown (Figure 1), when compared with the CON group, both L. barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) and ABO dietary supplementation decreased diarrhea ratios in weaned piglets (P < 0.05), but no significant differences were observed between the LBPs and ABO groups (P > 0.05)
We previously demonstrated that weaned piglets fed 4,000 mg/kg LBPs had a decreased relative abundance of Escherichia coli and Firmicutes in the ileum and cecum (Chen et al, 2020)

Summary

Introduction

Weaning increases intestinal permeability and reduces antioxidant capacity and immunity, which reduces feed intake, and increases diarrhea incidence, morbidity, and mortality (Hu et al, 2013; Yin et al, 2014). Our previous studies demonstrated that 4,000 mg/kg LBPs dietary supplementation enhanced growth performance, immune status and antioxidant capacity, and improved intestinal microbial populations in weaned piglets (Chen et al, 2020). Based on these favorable effects, we hypothesized that dietary LBPs supplementation could effectively replace antibiotics by improving performance, gastrointestinal tract health, and function in weaned piglets. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of a 4,000 mg/kg LBPs supplementation on growth performance, diarrhea incidence, serum immunity and antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) levels, and cecum intestinal microflora in weaned pigs

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Conclusion