Effects of galacto-oligosaccharides on growth and gut function of newborn suckling piglets

Abstract

BackgroundMost research on galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) has mainly focused on their prebiotic effects on the hindgut, but their beneficial effects on the small intestine (SI) have received little attention. Since jejunum is the important place to digest and absorb nutrients efficiently, optimal maturation of the jejunum is necessary for maintaining the high growth rate in the neonate. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of the early intervention with GOS on the intestinal development of the jejunum.MethodsA total of 6 litters of neonatal piglets (10 piglets per litter; Duroc × Landrace × Large White) with an average birth weight of 1.55 ± 0.05 kg received 1 of 2 treatments based on their assignment to either the control (CON) group or the GOS (GOS) group in each litter. Piglets in the GOS group were orally administrated 10 mL of a GOS solution (reaching 1 g GOS/kg body weight) per day from the age of 1 to 7 d; the piglets in the CON group were treated with the same dose of physiological saline. All piglets were weaned on d 21. On d 8 and 21 of the experimental trial, 1 pig per group from each of the 6 litters was euthanized.ResultsThe early intervention with GOS increased the average daily gains in the third week (P < 0.05). Decreased crypt depth was also observed in the jejunum of the piglets on d 21 (P < 0.05). The early intervention with GOS increased the jejunal lactase activity on d 8, maltase activity and sucrase activity on d 21 (P < 0.05). In addition, the early intervention with GOS also facilitated the mRNA expression of Sodium glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1) on d 8 and the mRNA expression of Glucose transporter type 2 (GLUT2) on d 21 (P < 0.05). It was further determined that GOS up-regulated the mRNA expression of preproglucagon (GCG), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). GOS also up-regulated the protein expression of glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) and EGF in the jejunum of the piglets. Furthermore, it was also found that GOS enhanced the protein expression of ZO-1 and occludin on d 8 (P < 0.05), as well as increased the mRNA expression of TGF-β and decrease the mRNA expression of IL-12 (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThese results indicate that GOS have a positive effect on piglet growth performance in addition to decreasing the crypt depth and enhancing functional development in jejunum of suckling piglets.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40104-018-0290-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Short Administration of Combined Prebiotics Improved Microbial Colonization, Gut Barrier, and Growth Performance of Neonatal Piglets

“… 21 GOS and FOS are prebiotics which can be fermented by gut microbiota to produce SCFAs, playing advantageous roles for intestinal development and growth. 22 , 23 In addition, MFGM is a protein–lipid complex surrounding the milk fat globules, reported to accelerate the growth of infants and piglets. 24 In the present study, GMF administration during the first week, with the homogeneous average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the creep feed (73.47 vs 69.27 g; SEM = 11.15, P = 0.732), improved the growth performance of piglets during the whole neonatal period, indicating the positive and durable effects of combined GOS, MFGM, and FOS on growth promotion.…”

Effects of galacto-oligosaccharide on growth performance, feacal microbiota, immune response and antioxidant capability in weaned piglets

“…c P < 0.05 means different, P < 0.01 means significantly different, 0.05 < P < 0.10 means tending to be different. Mountzouris et al (2006) reported that increased digestibility of carbohydrate components, such as nitrogen free extract and NDF, of pigs consuming the trans-galactooligosaccharides diet might be due to the improving effect of GOS on the morphology and function of gut (Leforestier et al 2009;Akbari et al 2015;Bhatia et al 2015;Tian et al 2018). Second, other research also found that dietary GOS enhanced net absorption of mineral elements and improved their retention time (Weaver et al 2011;Takasugi et al 2013).…”

“…MDA level tended to quadratically decrease (P = 0.09) on d 14 and significantly quadratically decreased (P = 0.02) on d 28 with the increased amount of GOS inclusion. Tian et al (2018) showed that piglets fed the diet supplemented with GOS had greater ADG than those fed the basal diet in the third week. In the present study, ADG of the weaned piglets increased during d 0-14 and d 0-28 of the experiment.…”

“…In addition, much attention has been focused on growth regulating effects of GOS. The most extensively used animal models to examine growth-promoting effect of GOS included rats (Sakaguchi et al 1998), broilers (Jung et al 2008), common carps (Hoseinifar et al 2017) and to a lesser extent pigs (Tian et al 2018); however, the results were inconsistent. No enhancing effects were observed on growth performance of rats and broilers fed diets containing GOS, whereas improvement in growth performance of pigs and common carps were observed.…”

Changes in Ileal Microbial Composition and Microbial Metabolism by an Early-Life Galacto-Oligosaccharides Intervention in a Neonatal Porcine Model

“…The determination of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) levels in intestinal mucosa was conducted using the ProcartaPlex™ multiplex immunoassay kit (Luminex, Austin, TX, USA) as previously reported [31].…”