Abstract
The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of organic acids on piglet growth performance and health status. A total of 360 weanling pigs (5.3 ± 0.6 kg) were randomly allotted to 3 treatment groups with 12 replicates of 10 pigs/pen. Piglets were fed the same basal diet and given either water (control) or water plus 2.0 L/Ton organic acid (OA) blends, such as OA1 or OA2, respectively, for 7 weeks. Compared to the control, OA1 and OA2 improved growth performance and/or reduced the piglets’ diarrhea rate during the various periods and improved small intestinal morphology at days 14 and/or 49. OA1 and OA2 also increased serum CAT and SOD activities and/or T-AOC and, as expected, decreased MDA concentration. Moreover, at day 14 and/or day 49, OA1 and OA2 increased the jejunal mRNA levels of host defense peptides (PBD1, PBD2, NPG1, and NPG3) and tight junction genes (claudin-1) and decreased that of cytokines (IL-1β and IL-2). Additionally, the two acidifiers regulated the abundance of several cecum bacterial genera, including Blautia, Bulleidia, Coprococcus, Dorea, Eubacterium, Subdoligranulum, and YRC2. In conclusion, both of the organic acid blends improved piglet growth performance and health status, potentially by regulating intestinal redox homeostasis, immunity, and microflora.
Highlights
The objective of the current study is to evaluate the effects of the two acidifier products, organic acid 1 (OA1) and organic acid 1 (OA2), on weanling piglet growth performance, redox homeostasis, and intestinal health status
The current study shows that drinking water supplementation of organic acids can improve the performance of weanling pigs
15–49 and the diarrhea rate throughout the study. These outcomes are similar to previous studies, which have reported that organic acids alone or in combination can improve the performance of weanling pigs [7,11,24,25], chickens [26,27,28], and rabbits [29]
Summary
Weanling piglets are exposed to a variety of stress factors, such as psychological, nutritional, and environmental stress [1,2,3], resulting in induced growth retardation, diarrhea, morbidity, and mortality [4,5]. These metabolic disorders, induced by weanling stress, are related to the impairment of inflammatory response, redox balance, intestinal health, and microbiota homeostasis [6,7,8]. It can reduce diarrhea and improve the nutrient digestibility and growth performance of piglets, which are mainly related to improving
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