Abstract
BackgroundThere is a great demand for antibiotic alternatives to maintain animal health and productivity. The objective of this experiment was to determine the efficacy of dietary supplementation of a blood group A6 type 1 antigen oligosaccharides-based polymer (Coligo) on growth performance, diarrhea severity, intestinal health, and systemic immunity of weaned pigs experimentally infected with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), when compared with antibiotics.ResultsPigs in antibiotic carbadox or Coligo treatment groups had greater (P < 0.05) body weight on d 5 or d 11 post-inoculation (PI) than pigs in the control group, respectively. Supplementation of antibiotics or Coligo enhanced (P < 0.05) feed efficiency from d 0 to 5 PI and reduced (P < 0.05) frequency of diarrhea throughout the experiment, compared with pigs in the control group. Supplementation of antibiotics reduced (P < 0.05) fecal β-hemolytic coliforms on d 2, 5, and 8 PI. Pigs in antibiotics or Coligo groups had reduced (P < 0.05) neutrophil counts and serum haptoglobin concentration compared to pigs in the control group on d 2 and 5 PI. Pigs in Coligo had reduced (P < 0.05) total coliforms in mesenteric lymph nodes on d 5 and 11 PI, whereas pigs in antibiotics or Coligo groups had reduced (P < 0.05) total coliforms in spleen on d 11 PI compared with pigs in the control group. On d 5 PI, pigs in the Coligo group had greater (P < 0.05) gene expression of ZO1 in jejunal mucosa, but less (P < 0.05) mRNA expression of IL1B, IL6, and TNF in ileal mucosa, in comparison with pigs in the control group. Supplementation of antibiotics enhanced (P < 0.05) the gene expression of OCLN in jejunal mucosa but decreased (P < 0.05) IL1B and IL6 gene expression in ileal mucosa, compared with the control. On d 11 PI, supplementation of antibiotics or Coligo up-regulated (P < 0.05) gene expression of CLDN1 in jejunal mucosa, but Coligo reduced (P < 0.05) IL6 gene expression in ileal mucosa compared to pigs in the control group.ConclusionsSupplementation of Coligo improved growth performance, alleviated diarrhea severity, and enhanced gut health in weaned pigs infected with ETEC F18 in a manner similar to in-feed antibiotics.
Highlights
There is a great demand for antibiotic alternatives to maintain animal health and productivity
The overall objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of blood group A6 type 1-based polymer on gut integrity and disease resistance of weanling pigs challenged with F18 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)
Diarrhea score, β-hemolytic coliforms No difference was observed in the initial body weight (BW) and d 0 BW of pigs among dietary treatments (Table 2)
Summary
There is a great demand for antibiotic alternatives to maintain animal health and productivity The objective of this experiment was to determine the efficacy of dietary supplementation of a blood group A6 type 1 antigen oligosaccharides-based polymer (Coligo) on growth performance, diarrhea severity, intestinal health, and systemic immunity of weaned pigs experimentally infected with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), when compared with antibiotics. Frequent use of in-feed antibiotics in livestock production has been shown to contribute to the increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and raised public health concerns [3] With these issues, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of in-feed antibiotics for growth promoting purposes in livestock production in the U.S [4], alternative nutritional strategies are highly demanded to enhance disease resistance and production of weanling pigs. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of blood group A6 type 1-based polymer on gut integrity and disease resistance of weanling pigs challenged with F18 ETEC
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