Study On The Effects Of Clostridium Butyricum On The Growth Performance, Immunity, Antioxidant Capacity And Intestinal Health Of Weaned Piglets

Clostridium butyricum(C.butyricum)is a beneficial bacteria in the intestine,which can be planted in the intestine and produce probiotics,and it plays an important role in maintaining the intestinal health.there are different reports on the effect of Clostridium butyricum on weaning piglets,and the studies are not systematic.The study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of C.butyricum on growth performance,immunity,antioxidant capacity and intestinal health of weaned piglets.A total of 360 25-day-old Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weaned piglets with similar weight were randomly assigned to 5 groups with 4 pens of 18 pigs per pen.Piglets in control group were fed with a antibiotic-free corn-soybean basal diet,and those in experimental groups were fed with the experimental diet containing a final concentration of 250,500,1 000 and 2 000 mg/kg C butyricum respectively for 30 days.Diets and water were available and at libitum during the experimental period.Fasting 12 hours before slaughter while water was still available during this period.Six piglets,randomly selected from each treatment(1 pig at least per pen)were weighed and slaughtered for samples.The cecal contents were preserved in ice box and other samples were stored at-80℃.The main results were obtained asfollows:(1)Adding 250 mg/kg and 1 000 mg/kg C.butyricum to the basal diet significantly decreased the ADFI of weaned piglets(P<0.05).Compared with the control,the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets in 250 and 500 mg/kg C.butyricum groups reduced by 40.01%(P<0.05)and 43.50%(P<0.05),respectively.Dietary supplementation of C.butyricum had no significant effect on ADG and F/G ofweaned piglets(P>0.05).(2)Comparedwith the control,the concentrationof serum TPin 250、500 and 1 000 mg/kg C.butyricum groups increased by 12.43%(P<0.05),21.73%(P<0.05)and 18.73%(P<0.05),respectively.The concentration of serum ALB in 2 000 mg/kgC.butyricum group was significantly higher than that in the control(P<0.05).Under this experimental conditions,there were no significant differences in AKP activities,GOT activities,GPT activities and BUN content in serum of weaned piglets among groups(P>0.05).(3)Dietary supplementation of C.butyricum had no significant effect on liver index,spleenindex,theconcentrationofserumIgM,C3andC4inweanedpiglets(P>0.05).Compared with the control,the concentration of serum IgA in experimental groups increased by 181.52%(P<0.05),195.44%(P<0.05),231.90%(P<0.05)and206.84%(P<0.05),respectively.The concentration of serum IgG in experimental groups increased by 51.50%(P<0.05),50.41%(P<0.05),55.90%(P<0.05)and 47.59%(P<0.05),respectively.(4)In comparation with the control,the T-AOC level in liver of piglets in 500 mg/kg C.butyricum group increased by 11.57%(P<0.05),and serum CAT activities in 1 000 mg/kg C.butyricum group increased by 62.71%(P<0.05).C.butyricum had no significant effect on SOD activities,GSH-Px activities and MDA content in serum,liver and jejunum of weaned piglets(P>0.05).No significant differences were observed on the T-AOC levels in serum and jejunum and CAT activities in liver and jejunum(P>0.05).(5)Compared with the control,jejunal villous height in experimental groups increased by 15.67%(P<0.05),18.37%(P<0.05),17.23%(P<0.05)and 35.75%(P<0.05),respectively,and the villous height/crypt depth of jejunum in 250 mg/kg C.butyricum supplementation group increased by 27.95%(P<0.01).C.butyricum had no effect on villi morphology(villous height,crypt depth and V/C ratio)of duodenum and ileum(P>0.05).There was no significant difference in jejunal crypt depth of weaned piglets among groups(P>0.05).(6)Compared with the control,duodenal amylase activity in 500 and 1 000 mg/kg C.butyricum groups increased byl46.96%(.P<0.01)and 99.45%(P<0.05),and the activity of pancreatic trypsin in 2 000 mg/kg C.butyricum group increased by 65.13%(P<0.05).The jejunal lipase activity in 250 mg/kg C.butyricum group and the duodenal lipase activity in 500 mg/kg C.butyricum group were higher than that in control significantly(P<0.05).(7)Compared with the control,the number of Escherichia.coli and Salmonella in cecum in experimental groups decreased by 15.78%(P<0.05),25.95%(P<0.01),24.57%(P<0.01),25.50%(P<0.01)and 14.08%(P<0.05),17.56%(P<0.01),13.45%(P<0.05),9.97%(P<0.05),respectively.Diet supplemented with C.butyricum had no effect on the number of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in cecum of weaned piglets(.P>0.05).(8)Serum D-Lac levels in 500 mg/kg C.butyricum group decreased by 16.63%(P<0.05)compared with the control.And the activity of IAP in jejunal in 250,500 and 1 000 mg/kg C.butyricum groups increased by 21.52%(P<0.05),35.97%(P<0.01)and 40.53%(P<0.01),respectively.In comparison with the control,the expression of ZO-1 in 500,1 000 and 2 000 mg/kg C.butyricum groups increased by 26.39%(P<0.05),34.95%(P<0.05)and 26.49%(P<0.05),respectively.(9)Compared with the control,the expression of VEGF in 250,500 and 1 000 mg/kg C.butyricum supplementation groups decreased by 13.59%(P<0.05),14.99%(P<0.05)and 13.92%(P<0.05),respectively.Dietary supplementation of 500mg/kg C.butyricum significantly upregulated the expression of interleukin-10(IL-10)in jejunal mucosa of weaned piglets(P<0.05).The expression of IL-6,TNF-α and HSP70 in jejunal mucosa were not affected by C.butyricum(P>0.05).The results suggested that dietary supplementation with appropriate doses of C.butyricum could reduce the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets significantly.C.butyricum had beneficial effects on improving the intestinal structure and digestive enzymes activities,regulating the digestive flora and relieving intestinal inflammation.Considering various indicators,the optimal dietary C.butyricum of Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weaned piglets was 500 mg/kg.