Effects of alkaline mineral complex water supplementation on growth performance, inflammatory response, and intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of drinking water alkaline mineral complex (AMC) supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, inflammatory response, immunity, antioxidant defense system, and barrier functions in weaned piglets. In a 15-d trial, 240 weaned piglets (9.35 ± 0.86 kg) at 28 d of age (large white × landrace × Duroc) were randomly divided into two groups: the control (Con) group and the AMC group. Drinking water AMC supplementation improved (P < 0.01) final body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) in weaned piglets compared to the Con group. Importantly, AMC reduced (P < 0.01) the feed-to-gain (F:G) ratio. AMC water improved the physical health conditions of piglets under weaning stress, as reflected by the decreased (P < 0.05) hair score and conjunctival score. Moreover, there was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in relatively small intestinal length, organ (liver, spleen, and kidney) indices, or gastrointestinal pH value in weaned piglets between the two groups. Of note, AMC significantly promoted the microvilli numbers in the small intestine and effectively ameliorated the gut morphology damage induced by weaning stress, as evidenced by the increased (P < 0.05) villous height (VH) and ratio of VH to crypt depth. Additionally, AMC lessened the levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, P < 0.01) and the contents of IL1β (P<0.05), and TNF-α (P<0.05) in the weaned piglet small intestine. Conversely, the gut immune barrier marker, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels in serum and small intestine mucosa were elevated after AMC water treatment (P < 0.01). Furthermore, AMC elevated the antioxidant mRNA levels of (P < 0.05) SOD 1-2, (P < 0.01) CAT, and (P < 0.01) GPX 1-2 in the small intestine. Likewise, the mRNA levels of the small intestine tight junction factors Occludin (P < 0.01), ZO-1 (P < 0.05), Claudin 2 (P < 0.01), and Claudin 5 (P<0.01) in the AMC treatment group were notably higher than those in the Con group. In conclusion, drinking water AMC supplementation has an accelerative effect on growth performance by elevating gut health by improving intestinal morphology, the inflammatory response, the antioxidant defense system, and barrier function in weaned piglets.

Keywords: alkaline mineral complex water; growth performance; intestinal barrier function; intestinal inflammation; weaned piglets.

Figure 1.

The time flow chart for treatment and data collection.

Figure 2.

The effect of AMC water on small intestinal morphology shown by SEM. Upper, SEM at 200 times magnification; Nether, SEM at 30,000 times magnification.

Figure 3.

The effect of AMC water on small intestinal morphology shown by H&E staining.

Figure 4.

The relative mRNA expression levels of antioxidant-related genes in the small intestine of weaned piglets. (A) SOD-1, (B) SOD-2, (C) SOD-3, (D) CAT, (E) GPX-1, and (F) GPX-2. Data are presented as the means ± SD (n = 6 per group). Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t-tests to compare differences between two groups. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.

Figure 5.

The relative mRNA expression levels of intestinal epithelium integrity-related genes in the small intestine of weaned piglets. (A) Occludin, (B) ZO-1, (C) Claudin 2, and (D) Claudin 5. Data are presented as the means ± SD (n = 6 per group). Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t-tests to compare differences between two groups. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.