1. The changes in body weight (BW) gain, immune phenotype and viability of commercial broilers, either given feed and water immediately after hatch or food-deprived for 24 or 48 h, were analysed in order to study the effect of early or late start of first feeding. 2. Chickens fed immediately had a 6.1% higher BW at slaughter age than those food-deprived for 48 h, while those chickens food-deprived for 24 h only had a 1.4% higher weight than those deprived for 48 h. 3. Those fed immediately and those food-deprived for 24 h did not differ significantly in BW. 4. Humoral immune status was measured as specific IgG antibody production and concentration of IgM and IgG in serum. Cellular immunological variables were the proportion of circulating leukocyte subpopulations and the relative expression of leukocyte surface markers, including the relative expression of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) antigens. 5. Differences were found between the three feeding treatments in the relative expression of MHC class II molecules, the relative expression of BU-1 molecules, and the ratio of CD4:CD8 single positive cells. 6. For the MHC class II molecules, a lower expression was found on the surface of mainly B-cells in chickens fed immediately compared with the two other feeding regimes. 7. These results suggest that food deprivation for 48 h may be unfavourable to the growth, viability, and the immune performance of broilers, whereas deprivation for 24 h appears to be acceptable for growth and normal immunological performance.
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine the effects of plant essential oil supplementation on growth performance, immune function and antioxidant activities in weaned pigs.MethodsIn the study, 24 weaned pigs were used to explore the effects of plant essential oil (PEO) on growth performance, immune properties and antioxidant activities. Pigs were fed with a basal diet (CON) or basal diet containing different concentrations of PEO (PEO50: 50 ppm; PEO100: 100 ppm; PEO200: 200 ppm). After 3 weeks, all pigs were slaughtered and blood and tissue samples were collected for biochemical analysis.ResultsThe results showed that PEO supplementation quadratically increased body weight gain (BWG) (P = 0.031), linearly (P < 0.05) and quadratically (P < 0.05) decreased F:G. In addition, IgG increased linearly (P < 0.05) and IgM increased linearly (P < 0.05) and quadratically (P < 0.05) as PEO supplementation. Similarly, MDA in serum, jejunal mucosa and pancreas were linearly decreased (P < 0.05) and GSH in serum (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05), duodenal mucosa (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) and in ileal mucosa (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) were notably increased. Futhermore, antioxidant-related genes expression levels of GST in spleen (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05), GPX1 (quadratic, P < 0.05) and SOD1 (linear, P < 0.05) in spleen and GST in liver (quadratic, P < 0.05) were markedly upregulated by PEO supplementation increasing.ConclusionsThese results suggest that PEO improves growth performance, immune function, and antioxidant activities in weaned pigs, and it may also relieve weaning stress if used as a feed additive in the livestock industry. And that supplementation 200 ppm PEO in diet would seem to be economically feasible.
Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) impairs postnatal growth and skeletal muscle development in neonatal infants. This study evaluated whether dietary β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate Ca (HMB-Ca) supplementation during the early postnatal period could improve muscle growth in IUGR neonates using piglets as a model. A total of twelve pairs of IUGR and normal-birth-weight (NBW) male piglets with average initial weights (1·85 (SEM 0·36) and 2·51 (SEM 0·39) kg, respectively) were randomly allotted to groups that received milk-based diets (CON) or milkbased diets supplemented with 800 mg/kg HMB-Ca (HMB) during days 7-28 after birth. Blood and longissimus dorsi (LD) samples were collected and analysed for plasma amino acid content, fibre morphology and the expression of genes related to muscle development. The results indicate that, regardless of diet, IUGR piglets had a significantly decreased average daily weight gain (ADG) compared with that of NBW piglets (P < 0·05). However, IUGR piglets fed HMB-Ca had a net weight and ADG similar to that of NBW piglets fed the CON diet. Irrespective of body weight (BW), HMB-Ca supplementation markedly increased the type II fibre cross-sectional area and the mRNA expression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), insulin-like growth factor-1 and myosin heavy-chain isoform IIb in the LD of piglets (P < 0·05). Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the effects of BW and HMB on mTOR expression in the LD (P < 0·05). In conclusion, HMB-Ca supplementation during the early postnatal period could improve skeletal muscle growth and maturity by accelerating fast-twitch glycolytic fibre development in piglets.
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