Mouchtoglou Christina, Cherlet Marc, Dehau Tessa, Aluwe Marijke, Ducatelle Richard, Goossens Evy, Croubels Siska, Van Immerseel Filip
Livestock Gut Health Team (LiGHT) Ghent, Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Aug 21;15(16):2450. doi: 10.3390/ani15162450.
Weaning is one of the most challenging stages in a piglet's life, with multiple stressors contributing to poor gut health. For several years, zinc oxide (ZnO) was the preferred means of promoting a healthy gut and preventing post-weaning diarrhea (PWD). However, with the banning of its use at medicinal levels in the EU since 2022, alternatives are needed. Berberine (BBR), an isoquinoline alkaloid, has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to treat diarrhea and has pharmacological properties that could make this molecule an attractive alternative to ZnO. The aim of this study was to investigate how berberine is metabolized in the intestinal tract and liver of weaned piglets; determine which metabolites are detected in intestinal contents and plasma; and whether a low dose can alter histomorphological parameters, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, and gut microbiota composition. A total of 60 piglets weaned at 4 weeks were divided into two groups (Control and BBR), each consisting of six pens of five animals. After two weeks of feeding with a normal diet or a berberine-supplemented diet (30 mg berberine/kg feed), berberine and its metabolites were quantified in intestinal contents and plasma by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) on 12 animals per group (2 male piglets per pen). Moreover, villus length and crypt depth were measured in small-intestinal tissue, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to examine jejunal, cecal, and colonic gut microbiota composition. Our findings show that piglets metabolize berberine into phase I and II metabolites; however, a low dose does not affect their histomorphology, microbiota composition, or SCFA production.
断奶是仔猪生命中最具挑战性的阶段之一，多种应激源会导致肠道健康不佳。多年来，氧化锌（ZnO）一直是促进肠道健康和预防断奶后腹泻（PWD）的首选方法。然而，自2022年起欧盟禁止在药用水平使用氧化锌，因此需要替代品。黄连素（BBR）是一种异喹啉生物碱，在中药中用于治疗腹泻已有数百年历史，其药理特性可能使该分子成为氧化锌的有吸引力的替代品。本研究的目的是调查黄连素在断奶仔猪的肠道和肝脏中如何代谢；确定在肠道内容物和血浆中检测到哪些代谢物；以及低剂量是否会改变组织形态学参数、短链脂肪酸（SCFA）的产生和肠道微生物群组成。总共60头4周龄断奶的仔猪被分为两组（对照组和黄连素组），每组由六个围栏组成，每个围栏有五只动物。在以正常饮食或添加黄连素的饮食（30毫克黄连素/千克饲料）喂养两周后，通过超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法（UPLC-MS/MS）对每组12只动物（每围栏2只雄性仔猪）的肠道内容物和血浆中的黄连素及其代谢物进行定量。此外，测量小肠组织中的绒毛长度和隐窝深度，并进行16S rRNA基因测序以检查空肠、盲肠和结肠的肠道微生物群组成。我们的研究结果表明，仔猪将黄连素代谢为I期和II期代谢物；然而，低剂量不会影响它们的组织形态、微生物群组成或SCFA的产生。
