Ma Jixiang, Huangfu Weikang, Yang Xu, Xu Junying, Zhang Yan, Wang Zhichang, Zhu Xiaoyan, Wang Chengzhang, Shi Yinghua, Cui Yalei
College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China.
Henan Key Laboratory of Innovation and Utilization of Grassland Resources, Zhengzhou, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Nov 2;9:1025942. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1025942. eCollection 2022.
As one kind of high-quality feed with rich nutrients, including high quality protein and amino acids, dietary fiber, enriched vitamins and mineral elements and bioactive molecules, alfalfa has been widely used in the production of ruminant livestock. As the understanding of alfalfa becomes more and more comprehensive, it is found that the high-quality nutrients in alfalfa could have positive effects on pigs. An increasing number of researches have shown that supplementing dietary alfalfa to the diet of gestating sows reduced constipation, alleviated abnormal behavior, improved satiety and reproductive performance; supplementing dietary alfalfa to the diet of piglets improved growth performance and intestinal barrier function, reduced intestinal inflammatory response and diarrhea; supplementing dietary alfalfa to the diet of growing-fattening pigs improved production performance and pork quality. Moreover, the mechanisms by which various nutrients of alfalfa exert their beneficial effects on pigs mainly including dietary fiber stimulating intestinal peristalsis, enhancing the activity of digestive enzymes, and promoting the colonization of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract through fermentation in the intestine, producing short-chain fatty acids and thus improving intestinal health; high quality protein and amino acids are beneficial to improve animal health condition; rich vitamins and mineral elements play an important role in various physiological functions and growth and development of the body; and bioactive molecules can improve the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory level. Therefore, alfalfa could be used as pig feed ingredient to alleviate various problems in the pig industry and to improve pig production performance. In this review, we detail the current application of alfalfa in pigs and discuss the potential mechanisms involved in how alfalfa improves growth and reproductive performance, pork quality, and intestinal health of the animals, thus laying the foundation for the increased application of high-quality forage in pig production.
紫花苜蓿作为一种营养丰富的优质饲料，含有优质蛋白质和氨基酸、膳食纤维、多种维生素、矿物质元素以及生物活性分子，已被广泛应用于反刍家畜生产中。随着对紫花苜蓿的认识越来越全面，发现其优质营养成分对猪也有积极作用。越来越多的研究表明，在妊娠母猪日粮中添加紫花苜蓿可减少便秘、缓解异常行为、提高饱腹感和繁殖性能；在仔猪日粮中添加紫花苜蓿可提高生长性能和肠道屏障功能，降低肠道炎症反应和腹泻；在生长育肥猪日粮中添加紫花苜蓿可提高生产性能和猪肉品质。此外，紫花苜蓿的各种营养成分对猪发挥有益作用的机制主要包括：膳食纤维刺激肠道蠕动，增强消化酶活性，通过在肠道内发酵促进有益菌在肠道内定植，产生短链脂肪酸从而改善肠道健康；优质蛋白质和氨基酸有利于改善动物健康状况；丰富的维生素和矿物质元素在机体的各种生理功能及生长发育中发挥重要作用；生物活性分子可提高抗氧化和抗炎水平。因此，紫花苜蓿可作为猪饲料成分，缓解养猪业中的各种问题并提高猪的生产性能。在本综述中，我们详细阐述了紫花苜蓿目前在猪生产中的应用，并探讨了其改善猪生长性能、繁殖性能、猪肉品质和肠道健康的潜在机制，从而为优质牧草在猪生产中的更多应用奠定基础。
