Pan Xiang-Yi, Qiu Zheng-Ying, Liu Chen, Wang Chuan, Wang Xiaowu, Huang Li-Na, Li Si-Fan, Shi Xiong-Wei, Ge Shao-Guang, Xin Rui-Hua
Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Lanzhou, China.
Engineering and Technology Research Center of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Apr 25;12:1529881. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1529881. eCollection 2025.
Weaning stress syndrome in piglets seriously endangers the healthy development of the breeding industry. L. (Chinese yam, YAM) has activities such as boosting immunity and regulating gastrointestinal function. In order to explore the potential efficacy of YAM on weaned piglets, this study aimed to investigate the effects of growth performance, immune function, intestinal health and intestinal flora composition of weaned piglets.
Forty-eight 28-day-old weaned piglets were randomly divided into a control group, YAML group and YAMH group, with 0, 1 and 2% YAM added to the basal diet, respectively. During the experiment, the piglets' feed intake was recorded, and blood and fecal samples were collected. After the feeding period, intestinal tissue samples and colon content samples were collected for testing.
The results showed that adding YAM to the diet can lower the incidence of diarrhea in weaned piglets, improve growth performance and nutrient digestibility, and reduce serum enzyme activity alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); in addition, YAM can also increase serum immunoglobulins (Ig) and antibody titers, regulate the level of inflammatory factors, and promote the expression of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) protein in the intestine. Furthermore, supplementation with YAM can increase the villus height (VH), the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (V/C), and the expression of Tight junctions (TJs), and also has a positive regulatory effect on the intestinal flora.
In summary, YAM alleviates weaning stress syndrome in piglets by promoting growth performance, improving immune function and disease resistance, improving intestinal morphology and mucosal immunity, and regulating the intestinal microbial composition of piglets. This provides a theoretical basis for the development and application of YAM as a new plant-derived feed additive.
仔猪断奶应激综合征严重危害养殖业的健康发展。山药具有增强免疫力和调节胃肠功能等活性。为探究山药对断奶仔猪的潜在功效，本研究旨在考察其对断奶仔猪生长性能、免疫功能、肠道健康及肠道菌群组成的影响。
将48头28日龄断奶仔猪随机分为对照组、低剂量山药组和高剂量山药组，分别在基础日粮中添加0%、1%和2%的山药。实验期间，记录仔猪采食量，并采集血液和粪便样本。饲养期结束后，采集肠道组织样本和结肠内容物样本进行检测。
结果表明，在日粮中添加山药可降低断奶仔猪腹泻发生率，提高生长性能和养分消化率，降低血清谷丙转氨酶（ALT）、总胆固醇（TC）和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）活性；此外，山药还可提高血清免疫球蛋白（Ig）和抗体效价，调节炎症因子水平，促进肠道分泌型免疫球蛋白A（SIgA）蛋白表达。此外，添加山药可增加绒毛高度（VH）、绒毛高度与隐窝深度比值（V/C）以及紧密连接（TJs）的表达，对肠道菌群也有正向调节作用。
综上所述，山药通过促进生长性能、提高免疫功能和抗病能力、改善肠道形态和黏膜免疫以及调节仔猪肠道微生物组成，缓解仔猪断奶应激综合征。这为山药作为新型植物源饲料添加剂的开发与应用提供了理论依据。
