Effects of a microencapsulated formula of organic acids and essential oils on nutrient absorption, immunity, gut barrier function, and abundance of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4 in weaned piglets challenged with E. coli F4

Abstract

The objective was to study the effects of microencapsulated organic acids (OA) and essential oils (EO) on growth performance, immune system, gut barrier function, nutrient digestion and absorption, and abundance of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4 (ETEC F4) in the weaned piglets challenged with ETEC F4. Twenty-four ETEC F4 susceptible weaned piglets were randomly distributed to four treatments including (1) sham-challenged control (SSC; piglets fed a control diet and challenged with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)); (2) challenged control (CC; piglets fed a control diet and challenged with ETEC F4); (3) antibiotic growth promoters (AGP; CC + 55 mg·kg-1 of Aureomycin); and (4) microencapsulated OA and EO [P(OA+EO); (CC + 2 g·kg-1 of microencapsulated OA and EO]. The ETEC F4 infection significantly induced diarrhea at 8, 28, 34, and 40 hours post-inoculation (hpi) (P < 0.05) in the CC piglets. At 28 days post-inoculation (dpi), piglets fed P(OA+EO) had a lower (P < 0.05) diarrhea score compared to those fed CC, but the P(OA+EO) piglets had a lower (P < 0.05) diarrhea score compared to those fed the AGP diets at 40 dpi. The ETEC F4 infection tended to increase in vivo gut permeability measured by the oral gavaging fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran 70 kDa (FITC-D70) assay in the CC piglets compared to the SCC piglets (P = 0.09). The AGP piglets had higher FITC-D70 flux than P(OA+EO) piglets (P < 0.05). The ETEC F4 infection decreased mid-jejunal VH in the CC piglets compared to the SCC piglets (P < 0.05). The P(OA+EO) piglets had higher (P < 0.05) VH in the mid-jejunum than the CC piglets. The relative mRNA abundance of SGLT1 and B0AT1 was reduced (P < 0.05) by ETEC F4 inoculation when compared to the SCC piglets. The AGP piglets had a greater relative mRNA abundance of B0AT1 than the CC piglets (P < 0.05). The ETEC F4 inoculation increased the protein abundance of OCLN (P < 0.05), and the AGP piglets had the lowest relative protein abundance of OCLN among the challenged groups (P < 0.05). The supplementation of microencapsulated OA and EO enhanced intestinal morphology and showed anti-diarrhea effects at a one-time point in weaned piglets challenged with ETEC F4. Even if more future studies can be required for further validation, this study brings evidence that microencapsulated OA and EO combination can be useful within the tools to be implemented in strategies for alternatives to antibiotics in swine production.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation With Mixed Organic Acids on Immune Function, Antioxidative Characteristics, Digestive Enzymes Activity, and Intestinal Health in Broiler Chickens

“…The previous study has demonstrated that dietary supplemented with mixed organic acid could improve performance ( 14 ), immune function ( 5 , 15 ), intestinal morphology as well as intestinal microbiota ( 10 , 16 ). Also, numerous scholars have illustrated the mechanism of MOA and summarized the benefits of MOA in livestock and poultry ( 4 , 17 ), especially in weaning pigs ( 7 , 8 ).…”

Lactobacillus rhamnosus LB1 Alleviates Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-Induced Adverse Effects in Piglets by Improving Host Immune Response and Anti-Oxidation Stress and Restoring Intestinal Integrity

“…After 3-day adaptation, the piglets were assigned randomly, on the basis of body weight (BW) and litter origin, to 8 groups: (8 piglets/group): 1) control group -piglets fed the basal diet and treated with phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH = 7.4); 2) CT group -piglets fed the basal diet supplemented with 40 mg/kg BW of colistin (CT; Zhongnong Pharmaceutical, Xinxiang, China); 3) LL grouppiglets fed the basal diet supplemented with 1 × 10 7 LB1/pig/day (relative low concentration of LB1, LL); 4) HL group -piglets fed the basal diet supplemented with 1×10 8 CFU/pig/day LB1 (relative high concentration of LB1, HL); 5) ETEC group: piglets fed the basal diet, and challenged with 1 × 10 10 CFU/pig ETEC; 6) CT + ETEC group -piglets fed the basal diet supplemented with 4 mg/kg BW of CT, and challenged with 1 × 10 10 CFU/pig ETEC; 7) LL + ETEC group -piglets fed the basal diet supplemented with 1 × 10 7 CFU/pig/day LB1, and challenged with 1 × 10 10 CFU/pig ETEC; 8) HL + ETEC group -piglets fed the basal diet supplemented with 1 × 10 8 CFU/pig/day LB1, and challenged with 1 × 10 10 CFU/pig ETEC. Before the animal trial, faeces from each piglet was tested for ETEC by PCR analysis using primers specific to faeG (Zhu et al, 2011) and the method described by Choi et al (2020). No ETEC was detected in the faecal samples.…”

Bacillus Licheniformis PF9 Improves Barrier Function and Alleviates Inflammatory Responses Against Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli F4 Infection in the Porcine Intestinal Epithelial Cells

“…In the present study, ETEC F4 bacteria, isolated from feces of piglets infected with postweaning diarrhea in the Veterinary Diagnostic Services Laboratory from the Government of Manitoba in Canada, was used to establish the model of harmful bacteria invasion in vitro. A previous study from this laboratory, showed that this strain of ETEC F4 can affect the nutrient absorption, immunity and gut barrier function in weaned piglets [39]. It was hypothesized that B. licheniformis PF9 isolated from feces of piglets in this study may be involved in attenuating/ ameliorating ETEC-induced changes in mucosal barrier function and the in ammatory responses of intestinal epithelial cells.…”