Effect of Forsythia suspensa extract and chito-oligosaccharide alone or in combination on performance, intestinal barrier function, antioxidant capacity and immune characteristics of weaned piglets

Panfeng Zhao, Xiangshu Piao, Zhikai Zeng, Ping Li, Xiao Xu, Hongliang Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated the effects of Forsythia suspensa extract (FSE) and chito-oligosaccharide (COS), alone or together, on performance and health status of weaned piglets. The treatments included a basal diet and three diets with 160 mg/kg COS, 100 mg/kg FSE, or 100 mg/kg FSE and 160 mg/kg COS. Supplementation with COS or FSE alone improved (P < 0.01) average daily gain and feed conversion ratio compared with the basal diet in the first 2 weeks. On day 14, COS or FSE supplementation separately produced stronger (P < 0.01) serum total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase activities and lower serum endotoxin (P < 0.05) and malondialdehyde (P < 0.01) concentrations, generated higher (P < 0.01) serum complement 4 concentration, peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation and serum-specific ovalbumin antibody level than the basal diet. No differences in oxidative injury and immunity indices were detected on day 28. The combined FSE and COS produced similar results compared with FSE or COS when given alone. These data indicate FSE or COS can increase performance by modulating intestinal permeability, antioxidant status and immune function in younger pigs. There appears to be similar advantage in feeding the additives in combination over those obtained from feeding them separately.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)854-862
Number of pages9
JournalAnimal Science Journal
Volume88
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science

Keywords

  • Forsythia suspensa extract
  • chito-oligosaccharide
  • health status
  • performance
  • weaned piglet

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