Effects and interaction of dietary electrolyte balance and citric acid on growth performance, intestinal histomorphology, digestive enzyme activity and nutrient transporters expression of weaned piglets

Abstract

Fifty‐six piglets were weaned at 21 days and randomly assigned to 1 of 8 dietary treatments with 7 replicate pens for a 14‐day experimental period. The eight experimental diets were prepared via a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with citric acid (CA; 0 and 0.3%) and dietary electrolyte balance (dEB, Na +K − Cl mEq/kg of the diet; −50, 100, 250, and 400 mEq/kg). Varying dEB values were obtained by altering calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate contents. Dietary CA significantly increased (p < .05) villus height (VH) and villus height:crypt depth (VH:CD) in the jejunum. Piglets fed a 250 mEq/kg diet increased (p < .05) VH and VH:CD values in the duodenum. Jejunal VH and VH:CD increased (quadratic; p < .05), and ileal VH:CD (liner and quadratic; p < .05) decreased as dEB was increased in diets without CA, but no such effect was observed on the diets containing CA (dEB ×CA; p < .05). The CD in jejunum (quadratic; p < .05) increased as dEB was increased in diets containing CA, whereas it was decreased (linear; p < .05) in the diets without CA (dEB ×CA; p < .001). Dietary CA increased maltase activity and reduced the number of Ki67‐positive cells (p < .05). Increasing dEB values in diets without CA increased sucrose and lactase activities (quadratic; p < .05), but no such effect was observed in the diets with CA (dEB ×CA; p < .05). An interaction effect between dEB and CA on the number of Ki67‐positive cells was observed (p < .001). In conclusion, 250 mEq/kg dEB diet with CA improved piglet intestinal digestion and absorption function by improving intestinal morphology and increasing digestive enzyme activities. However, these improvements were also observed in piglets fed the 100 mEq/kg dEB diet without CA.

Effects of electrolyte balance on intestinal barrier, amino acid metabolism, and mTORC1 signaling pathway in piglets fed low-protein diets

“…The structure and function of the intestine are reflected through the morphology of the intestine ( Moeser et al., 2007 ; Stokes, 2017 ). In the current experiment, it was found that the ME diet improved the morphological and structural integrity of the duodenum and jejunum in piglets compared to the LE diet and the HE diet, which was consistent with previous studies ( Deng et al., 2021 ). The regression results showed that the dEB corresponding to the highest villous height and V:C of duodenum and jejunum were 243.06, 255.95, 255.82 and 264.2 mEq/kg, respectively.…”

Effects of essential oil extracted from Artemisia argyi leaf on lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in high-fat diet-fed mice

“…The jejunal tissue was removed and fixed in a 4% paraformaldehyde solution, then the fixed tissue was paraffin-embedded, and the jejunal tissue block was cut approximately 4-μm thick using a microtome and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) ( 26 ). The villus height was the distance from the villus tip to the crypt mouth, and crypt depth was the distance from the crypt mouth to the base of the crypt ( 27 , 28 ).…”

Mulberry leaf polysaccharide improves cyclophosphamide-induced growth inhibition and intestinal damage in chicks by modulating intestinal flora, enhancing immune regulation and antioxidant capacity

“…Chick jejunal and ileal samples were subjected to overnight fixation using 10% neutral formaldehyde, followed by dehydration, pruning, embedding, sectioning, staining, and tablet sealing for microscopic examination ( Deng et al, 2021 ). Later, the digital trim camera microscope (BA210 Digital, Motic) was utilized for section observation; meanwhile, the image analysis software (Motic Images Advanced 3.2) was employed for measuring and analyzing villus length, crypt depth, and intestinal wall of jejunal and ileal samples.…”