Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) supplementation on growth performance, serum parameters, small intestinal morphology, intestinal mucosal integrity, and immune function in weaned piglets. A total of 240 weaned piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 8.82 ± 0.05 kg (28 d of age) were assigned randomly to 4 dietary treatments in a 28-d trial, including a control diet (CON), 3 diets with XOS supplementation at the concentration of 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg (XOS100, XOS500, and XOS1000). There were 4 replicates per treatment with 15 pigs per pen. From d 1 to 14, there were no differences (P > 0.05) in average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain to feed ratio (G:F) during the different treatments. The different doses of XOS showed a quadratic effect on BW on d 28, ADG and G:F d 1-28 of piglets (P < 0.05). From d 15 to 28, ADG of pigs fed the XOS500 diet was higher (P < 0.05) than pigs fed the CON diet. During the overall period (d 1 to 28), pigs fed the XOS500 diet had a higher BW, ADG and G:F than pigs fed the CON diet (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with the CON group, the XOS500 group had significantly higher serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels on d 14 and 28 (P < 0.05). The serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration in the XOS500 group was also significantly higher compared with the CON group on d 14 and 28 (P <0.05). However, serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) were not affected by the dietary treatments. Supplementation of XOS500 to the feed significantly increased the villus height (VH) and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) in the jejunum and ileum in comparison with the CON and XOS1000 group. Moreover, the XOS500 group significantly elevated the expression levels of Occludin and zonula occludens protein-1 (ZO-1) in the ileum compared to the CON group. The ileal interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8 and interferon (IFN)-γ mRNA expression levels in the XOS100 and XOS500 group were markedly lower than in the CON group. In contrast, the ileal IL-10 mRNA expression levels were remarkably higher in the XOS500 than CON group. In conclusion, xylo-oligosaccharides have a beneficial effect on growth performance by improving serum antioxidant defense system, serum IgG, small intestinal structure and intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets.
Effects of realimentation on small intestinal morphology and disaccharidase activity in malnutrition Sprague-Dawley rats