The inclusion of yeast-derived protein in weanling diet improves growth performance, anti-oxidative capability and intestinal health of piglets

Abstract Text:

This study aimed to investigate the effects of yeast-derived protein (YP) on growth performance, intestinal health and oxidative status of weaned piglets. A total of 80 weaned piglets (PIC 327×1050, 26 ± 2 d-old) were randomly allocated into 2 groups, 5 pens each group and 8 piglets each pen, receiving control diet and diet with inclusion of 4% YP at the expense of fish meal (YP diet) for a period of 28 days. Piglets had free access to pelleted feed and water. Feed intake was recorded daily and piglets were weighed weekly for calculating ADG, ADFI and G:F. At d 28, blood samples were collected from the cervical vein and centrifuged (3000 ×g, 4 °C, 15 min) to separate serum for biochemical assays. Then these piglets were anaesthetized with intravenous injection of pentobarbital sodium (15 mg/kg body weight) and slaughtered. Approximately 2 cm of ileal tissue was collected each piglet and stored at −80°C for real-time RT-PCR. Moreover, the chyme of ileum and colon were removed and stored at −80°C for microbial analysis. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure of SPSS 20.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) and are reported as means ± SEM. The results showed that piglets fed YP diet had markedly higher overall ADG (470±18 vs. 412±12 g, P=0.034) and G:F (0.72±0.02 vs. 0.67±0.01, P=0.001). Serum concentration of urea was significantly decreased (166.58±9.57 vs. 306.34±26.89 mmol/L, P=0.003) in piglets fed YP diet relative to piglets fed control diet. Moreover, serum activity of glutathione peroxidase (GP_X) was markedly increased (303.31±7.22 vs. 255.54±8.53 umol/L, P=0.003) in piglets fed YP diet relative to piglets fed control diet. In addition, feeding YP diet significantly increased the DNA copy numbers (log¹⁰ Cfu/g of digesta) of lactobacilli (8.27±0.13 vs. 7.20±0.17, P=0.021) and total bacteria (10.44±0.06 vs. 10.26±0.04, P=0.044) in the colonic digesta of piglets. Furthermore, mRNA expression of the innate immunity-related genes (TLR4, NF-κB1 and IL-6) tended to increase (1.33±0.11 vs. 1.00±0.07, P=0.057; 1.92±0.15 vs. 1.00±0.21, P=0.024; 1.45±0.10 vs. 1.00±0.15, P=0.041, respectively) in the ileum of piglets fed YP diet relative to piglets fed control diet. In conclusion, the diet with inclusion of YP improved growth performance, anti-oxidative capability and intestinal health of weaned piglets.

Keywords: growth, piglet, yeast