Curcumin and Resveratrol Regulate Intestinal Bacteria and Alleviate Intestinal Inflammation in Weaned Piglets

Abstract

Human infants or piglets are vulnerable to intestinal microbe-caused disorders and inflammation due to their rapidly changing gut microbiota and immaturity of their immune systems at weaning. Resveratrol and curcumin have significant anti-inflammatory, bacteria-regulating and immune-promoting effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with resveratrol and curcumin can change the intestinal microbiota and alleviate intestinal inflammation induced by weaning in piglets. One hundred eighty piglets weaned at 21 ± 2 d were fed a control diet (CON group) or supplemented diet (300 mg/kg of antibiotics, ANT group; 300 mg/kg of resveratrol and curcumin, respectively, HRC group; 100 mg/kg of resveratrol and curcumin, respectively, LRC group; 300 mg/kg of resveratrol, RES group; 300 mg/kg of curcumin, CUR group) for 28 days. The results showed that compared with the CON group, curcumin alone and antibiotics decreased the copy numbers of Escherichia coli. Both curcumin and resveratrol down-regulated the level of Toll-like-receptor 4 mRNA and protein expression in the intestine to inhibit the release of critical inflammation molecules (interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α), and increase the secretion of immunoglobulin. Our results suggested that curcumin and resveratrol can regulate weaned piglet gut microbiota, down-regulate the TLR4 signaling pathway, alleviate intestinal inflammation, and ultimately increase intestinal immune function.

Dietary garcinol supplementation improves diarrhea and intestinal barrier function associated with its modulation of gut microbiota in weaned piglets

“…Therefore, appropriate weaning nutrition appears to be essential for enhancing the gut health of animals. Previous studies have shown that some plant extracts (e.g., curcumin, resveratrol and essential oils) had beneficial effects on the performance and intestinal barrier function of mice and weaned piglets [9,30,31]. Currently, garcinol is regarded as one of the most promising plant extracts with effective antioxidant properties [32].…”

“…Recent studies have shown that plant extract can result in the intestinal flora shift and reduce inflammation, which in turn can improve the intestinal health of piglets [9]. Finally, we used high-throughput sequencing to perform 16S rRNA gene analysis in the colon of piglets.…”

“…Recently, it was reported that curcumin and resveratrol, antioxidative plant extracts, can regulate the gut microbiota of weaned piglets, downregulate the TLR4 signaling pathway, alleviate intestinal inflammation, and ultimately increase intestinal immune function [9]. As another excellent antioxidative plant extract, garcinol, the major component of Garcinia indica (G. indica) fruit rind, has been widely used in the dietary supplementation of rodents [10][11][12].…”

Interaction between Gut Microbiota and Curcumin: A New Key of Understanding for the Health Effects of Curcumin

“…In Weaned piglets fed a diet supplemented with curcumin (300 mg/kg of curcumin, mixed with the normal diet) for 28 days, Gan et al demonstrated that this polyphenol was able to alleviate inflammation downregulating the expression of TLR4 by inhibiting Escherichia coli proliferation [123].…”

Dietary Curcumin Supplementation Increases Antioxidant Capacity, Upregulates Nrf2 and Hmox1 Levels in the Liver of Piglet Model with Intrauterine Growth Retardation

“…In human clinical trials, it is suggested that the curcumin is effective and can be used in a dosage of 8 g/d [2]. It has been proved that the curcumin revealed many medicinal properties such as antioxidant, antiapoptotic, proliferative properties [3,4], anti-inflammatory [5], anticancer, antitumor activities, and confirmed the protective effects against various diseases [6]. Previous study found that dietary curcumin supplementation had beneficial effects on improving the growth performance of weaned pigs [7].…”