Effects of Dietary Lysophospholipid Complex on Apparent Ileal Digestibility of Fatty Acids, Intestinal Morphology and Barrier Function, and Growth Performance in Nursery Pigs

It was hypothesized that dietary lysophospholipid complex could actively be incorporated into the plasma membrane of enterocytes, enhancing cell viability, which could improve intestinal morphology and barrier function. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of lysophospholipid complex (LPL; Lipidol, Easy Bio, INC., Korea) on growth, fat utilization, intestinal morphology, barrier function, and immune response of nursery pigs. The LPL was produced by an enzymatic modification of phospholipids with elimination of one molecule fatty acid at the sn-2 position. Twenty-four newly weaned pigs (12 barrows and 12 gilts, 7.2 ± 0.1 kg BW) were randomly allotted to 2 treatments in a randomized complete block design. Sex and initial BW were used as blocks. Pigs were fed a diet supplemented with either 0 or 0.1 % LPL based on 2 phases (7 and 12 d, respectively). Titanium dioxide (0.5%) was added to the diets from d 14 as an indigestible external marker. Body weight and feed consumption were recorded on d 7, 14, and 19. On d 19, ileal digesta were collected to measure apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of crude fat, fatty acids, DM, CP, and GE. Blood samples were collected for analysis of immune response. Duodenum and jejunum segments were collected for morphology evaluation, and mucosa samples were collected for analysis of barrier function and immune response. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS. Dietary LPL increased (P < 0.05) ADG (681 to 774 g/d) and ADFI (1,000 to 1,089 g/d) of nursery pigs from d 14 to 19, and tended to increase AID of crude fat (72.7 to 84.2%; P = 0.086) and C18:2 (86.7 to 96.4%; P = 0.059). Dietary supplementation with LPL increased (P < 0.05) villus height in the duodenum (509.3 to 589.2 μm) and in the jejunum (463.1 to 524.2 μm), and tended to increase villus height to crypt depth ratio in the duodenum (1.9 to 2.2; P = 0.086) and in the jejunum (184.7 to 200.9 μm; P = 0.062). Dietary LPL tended to increase claudin-1 (0.21- to 0.25-fold increase; P = 0.062) and zonula occludens-1 (0.26- to 0.30-fold increase; P = 0.056) in the jejunal epithelial cells, and tended to decrease immunoglobulin G (1.13 to 1.16 mg/mL; P = 0.083) in serum. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of LPL improved fat digestibility, intestinal morphology and barrier function, and growth of nursery pigs.