Homer Bonnie, Barekatain Reza, Petrovski Kiro R, Plush Kate J, Dwan Corinna, D'Souza Darryl N, Verma Paul J, Kirkwood Roy N, Tucker Bryony S
School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia.
South Australian Research and Development Institute, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2024 May 15;14(10):1472. doi: 10.3390/ani14101472.
Weaning stress imposes considerable physiological challenges on piglets, often manifesting in intestinal disturbances, such as inflammation and compromised barrier function, ultimately affecting growth and health outcomes. While conventional interventions, including antimicrobials, have effectively mitigated these sequelae, concerns surrounding antimicrobial resistance necessitate the exploration of alternatives. Fucoidan, derived from brown seaweed, offers promise due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Previous research has been limited to the in-feed supplementation of partially purified fucoidan extracted from brown seaweed. The focus of the present study is assessing the effect of a preweaning drench with highly purified (85%) fucoidan on piglet growth, immune response, and intestinal morphology post-weaning. Forty-eight male piglets at 17 ± 3 days of age (5.67 ± 0.16 kg) were assigned to a saline (control), fucoidan, or antimicrobial group, receiving treatment as a single 18 mL oral drench three days before weaning. Monitoring for seven days post-weaning included body weight measurements, blood sample collection for the inflammatory protein assay, and small intestine morphological analysis. The findings revealed that the preweaning fucoidan drench did not elicit adverse effects on piglets. However, neither fucoidan nor antimicrobial drenches significantly enhanced growth parameters, immune markers, or intestinal morphology compared to that of the control-treated piglets ( > 0.05). The lack of response may be attributed to the high health status of the experimental cohort and the limitation of a single dosage. Future research should consider a more challenging production setting to evaluate the viability and optimal application of fucoidan as an antimicrobial alternative in the pig industry.
断奶应激给仔猪带来了相当大的生理挑战，常常表现为肠道紊乱，如炎症和屏障功能受损，最终影响生长和健康状况。虽然包括抗菌药物在内的传统干预措施有效地减轻了这些后遗症，但对抗菌药物耐药性的担忧促使人们探索替代方案。岩藻依聚糖，源自褐藻，因其抗氧化和抗炎作用而具有应用前景。以往的研究仅限于在饲料中添加从褐藻中提取的部分纯化的岩藻依聚糖。本研究的重点是评估在断奶前给仔猪灌服高纯度（85%）岩藻依聚糖对断奶后仔猪生长、免疫反应和肠道形态的影响。48头17±3日龄（体重5.67±0.16千克）的雄性仔猪被分为生理盐水组（对照组）、岩藻依聚糖组或抗菌药物组，在断奶前三天接受一次18毫升的口服灌服治疗。断奶后七天的监测包括体重测量、采集血样进行炎症蛋白检测以及小肠形态分析。研究结果显示，断奶前灌服岩藻依聚糖对仔猪没有产生不良影响。然而，与对照组仔猪相比，灌服岩藻依聚糖和抗菌药物均未显著提高生长参数、免疫指标或肠道形态（>0.05）。缺乏反应可能归因于实验猪群的健康状况良好以及单一剂量的局限性。未来的研究应考虑在更具挑战性的生产环境中评估岩藻依聚糖作为养猪业抗菌药物替代品的可行性和最佳应用。
