Influence of two different stressors, weaning and immunization, on the plasma histamine level of organic farming piglets

Ahrens, Frank; Sünkel, Yvonne; Pollmüller, Tanja; Bussemas, Ralf; Weißmann, Friedrich; Erhard, Michael

doi:10.1007/s00011-009-2005-3

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Weaning pigs often are exposed to a multitude of stressors such as diet conversion, littermate separation, and disturbances in the surrounding environment, which frequently cause intestinal dysfunction, pathogen invasion, appetite decrease, feed intake decline, microecological imbalance, and growth retardation (Blecha and Kelley 1981; Funderburke and Seerley 1990; Ahrens et al 2009; Hyun et al 1998; Moeser et al 2017). Therefore, maintaining normal gut health and microecological balance is vital to the growth performance of weaned pigs (Lallès et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coix seed improves growth performance and productivity in post-weaning pigs by reducing gut pH and modulating gut microbiota

Lin

Zheng

et al. 2019

AMB Expr

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Coix seed has traditionally been used in traditional Chinese medicine to fortify the spleen and inhibit dampness, and has shown anticancer effects in humans. However, it is not known whether coix seed improves post-weaning growth performance and productivity, and the mechanism of interaction between coix seed and gut microbiota remains unknown. In this study, we established four groups: (i) control, (ii) antibiotic-fed, (iii) coix seed powder-fed, and (iv) coix seed extract-fed. The feeding experiment was conducted for 4 weeks. Coix seed extract significantly increased average weight gain and reduced the feed/meat ratio in weaned pigs, in addition to reducing the pH of their gastric juice. Further assays demonstrated that coix seed promotes an increase in the density and length of the gastrointestinal villi. Next, 16s sequencing of gut microbiota showed that coix seed significantly increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes and genus Lactobacillus (p < 0.05) and reduced the abundance of phylum Prevotella (p < 0.05) in the gut microbiota. In contrast, the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes and genus Lactobacillus decreased in the control group and antibiotic group, whereas the abundance of phylum Prevotella increased. Our findings indicate that coix seed improves growth performance and productivity in post-weaning pigs by reducing the pH value of gastric juice, increasing the density and length of gastrointestinal villi, and modulating gut microbiota. Thus, coix seed has good potential for use as a feed supplement in swine production.

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