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. 2018 Oct 22;19(10):3277.
doi: 10.3390/ijms19103277.

Dietary Supplementation with Trihexanoin Enhances Intestinal Function of Weaned Piglets

Tao Wu  1 , Kang Li  2 , Dan Yi  3 , Lei Wang  4 , Di Zhao  5 , Yang Lv  6 , Lin Zhang  7 , Hongbo Chen  8 , Binying Ding  9 , Yongqing Hou  10 , Guoyao Wu  11   12
Affiliations

Dietary Supplementation with Trihexanoin Enhances Intestinal Function of Weaned Piglets

Tao Wu et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Trihexanoin is a short-chain triglyceride (SCT). Many studies have reported that SCTs play important roles in the maintenance of intestinal epithelial structure and function. The present work was to investigate the effects of trihexanoin on growth performance, carbohydrate and fat metabolism, as well as intestinal morphology and function in weaned piglets. Twenty weaned piglets (21 ± 2 d) were randomly allocated to one of two treatment groups: The control group (basal diet supplemented with 0.5% soya oil); the TH group (basal diet supplemented with 0.5% trihexanoin). Dietary trihexanoin supplementation significantly reduced diarrhea rate; increased the concentrations of LDL, HDL and total protein in plasma; decreased cholesterol concentrations and glutamyl transpeptidase activity in plasma; improved intestinal morphologic structure; altered the mRNA levels and abundances of proteins related to glycogen and fat metabolism, mucosal barrier function, antioxidant capacity and water transport capacity; and altered the community of intestinal microflora. These results indicate that dietary trihexanoin supplementation could reduce diarrhea, regulate carbohydrate and fat metabolism, exert beneficial effects on the intestinal mucosal barrier, protect the intestinal mucosa from injuries, improve intestinal transport and absorption, and enhance antioxidant capacity. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 0.5% trihexanoin improves the intestinal function and health of weaned piglets.

Keywords: glycogen and fat metabolism; intestinal morphology and function; trihexanoin; weaned piglets.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Content of LDL and HDL in plasma. Values are means ± SD, n = 6. * Means are significantly different from the control group (p < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Intestinal mucosal morphology. (A) Jejunum (control). (B) Jejunum (TH group). (C) Ileum (control). (D) Ileum (TH group).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Protein expression levels in jejunum. Values are means ± SD, n = 6. * Means are significantly different from the control group (p < 0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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