Li Zhaolong, Lin Zhongning, Lu Zheng, Feng Zhihua, Chen Qi, Deng Sufang, Li Zhenwu, Yan Youquan, Ying Zhaoyang
Fujian Key Laboratory of Innate Immune Biology, Biomedical Research Center of South China, Fujian Normal University Qishan Campus, Fuzhou, 350117, Fujian, China.
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Pudang, Jin-an District, Fuzhou, 350013, Fujian, China.
AMB Express. 2019 Jul 23;9(1):115. doi: 10.1186/s13568-019-0828-z.
Coix seed has traditionally been used in traditional Chinese medicine to fortify the spleen and inhibit dampness, and has shown anticancer effects in humans. However, it is not known whether coix seed improves post-weaning growth performance and productivity, and the mechanism of interaction between coix seed and gut microbiota remains unknown. In this study, we established four groups: (i) control, (ii) antibiotic-fed, (iii) coix seed powder-fed, and (iv) coix seed extract-fed. The feeding experiment was conducted for 4 weeks. Coix seed extract significantly increased average weight gain and reduced the feed/meat ratio in weaned pigs, in addition to reducing the pH of their gastric juice. Further assays demonstrated that coix seed promotes an increase in the density and length of the gastrointestinal villi. Next, 16s sequencing of gut microbiota showed that coix seed significantly increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes and genus Lactobacillus (p < 0.05) and reduced the abundance of phylum Prevotella (p < 0.05) in the gut microbiota. In contrast, the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes and genus Lactobacillus decreased in the control group and antibiotic group, whereas the abundance of phylum Prevotella increased. Our findings indicate that coix seed improves growth performance and productivity in post-weaning pigs by reducing the pH value of gastric juice, increasing the density and length of gastrointestinal villi, and modulating gut microbiota. Thus, coix seed has good potential for use as a feed supplement in swine production.
薏苡仁在传统中医中一直被用于健脾利湿，且已在人体中显示出抗癌作用。然而，尚不清楚薏苡仁是否能改善断奶后的生长性能和生产性能，其与肠道微生物群之间的相互作用机制也仍不明确。在本研究中，我们设立了四组：（i）对照组，（ii）抗生素喂养组，（iii）薏苡仁粉喂养组，以及（iv）薏苡仁提取物喂养组。饲养实验进行了4周。薏苡仁提取物显著增加了断奶仔猪的平均体重增加量并降低了料肉比，此外还降低了其胃液的pH值。进一步的分析表明，薏苡仁能促进胃肠道绒毛密度和长度的增加。接下来，对肠道微生物群进行的16s测序显示，薏苡仁显著增加了肠道微生物群中拟杆菌门和乳酸杆菌属的丰度（p < 0.05），并降低了普雷沃氏菌门的丰度（p < 0.05）。相比之下，对照组和抗生素组中拟杆菌门和乳酸杆菌属的丰度降低，而普雷沃氏菌门的丰度增加。我们的研究结果表明，薏苡仁通过降低胃液pH值、增加胃肠道绒毛密度和长度以及调节肠道微生物群，改善了断奶仔猪的生长性能和生产性能。因此，薏苡仁在猪生产中作为饲料添加剂具有良好的应用潜力。
