Zhao Bi-Chen, Wang Tian-Hao, Chen Jian, Qiu Bai-Hao, Xu Ya-Ru, Li Jin-Long
College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China.
Heilongjiang Key Laboratory for Laboratory Animals and Comparative Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, China.
Anim Nutr. 2023 Dec 21;16:174-188. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2023.10.007. eCollection 2024 Mar.
Optimal intestinal health and functionality are essential for animal health and performance, and simultaneously intestinal nutrient transporters and intestinal peptides are also involved in appetite and feed intake control mechanisms. Given the potential of essential oil (EO) in improving animal performance and improving feed palatability, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation of cinnamaldehyde and carvacrol could improve performance and appetite of nursery pigs by modulating intestinal health and microbiota. Cinnamaldehyde (100 mg/kg), carvacrol (100 mg/kg), and their mixtures (including 50 mg/kg cinnamaldehyde and 50 mg/kg carvacrol) were supplemented into the diets of 240 nursery pigs for 42 d, and data related to performance were measured. Thereafter, the influence of EO on intestinal health, appetite and gut microbiota and their correlations were explored. EO supplementation increased ( < 0.05) the body weight, average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of piglets, and reduced ( < 0.05) diarrhea rates in nursery pigs. Furthermore, EO increased ( < 0.05) the intestinal absorption area and the abundance of tight junction proteins, and decreased ( < 0.05) intestinal permeability and local inflammation. In terms of intestinal development and the mucus barrier, EO promoted intestinal development and increased ( < 0.05) the number of goblet cells. Additionally, we found that piglets in the EO-supplemented group had upregulated ( < 0.05) levels of transporters and digestive enzymes in the intestine, which were significantly associated with daily gain and feed utilization. In addition, EO supplementation somewhat improved appetite in nursery pigs, increased the diversity of the gut microbiome and the abundance of beneficial bacteria, and there was a correlation between altered bacterial structure and appetite-related hormones. These findings indicate that EO is effective in promoting growth performance and nutrient absorption as well as in regulating appetite by improving intestinal health and bacterial structure.
最佳的肠道健康和功能对于动物的健康和生产性能至关重要，同时肠道营养转运蛋白和肠道肽也参与食欲和采食量控制机制。鉴于精油（EO）在改善动物生产性能和提高饲料适口性方面的潜力，我们假设在日粮中添加肉桂醛和香芹酚可以通过调节肠道健康和微生物群来提高保育猪的生产性能和食欲。将肉桂醛（100毫克/千克）、香芹酚（100毫克/千克）及其混合物（包括50毫克/千克肉桂醛和50毫克/千克香芹酚）添加到240头保育猪的日粮中，持续42天，并测量与生产性能相关的数据。此后，探讨了精油对肠道健康、食欲和肠道微生物群的影响及其相关性。添加精油增加了（P<0.05）仔猪的体重、平均日增重（ADG）和平均日采食量（ADFI），并降低了（P<0.05）保育猪的腹泻率。此外，精油增加了（P<0.05）肠道吸收面积和紧密连接蛋白的丰度，并降低了（P<0.05）肠道通透性和局部炎症。在肠道发育和黏液屏障方面，精油促进了肠道发育并增加了（P<0.05）杯状细胞的数量。此外，我们发现添加精油组的仔猪肠道中转运蛋白和消化酶的水平上调（P<0.05），这与日增重和饲料利用率显著相关。此外，添加精油在一定程度上改善了保育猪的食欲，增加了肠道微生物群的多样性和有益细菌的丰度，并且细菌结构的改变与食欲相关激素之间存在相关性。这些发现表明，精油通过改善肠道健康和细菌结构，在促进生长性能和营养吸收以及调节食欲方面是有效的。
