Immune System Stimulation of Finishing Pigs is Positively Altered with Vitamin E and Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid Supplements

Abstract Text: During lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, nutrients are partitioned away from animal growth towards the response of acute phase proteins. One strategy to modify animal’s response to LPS challenge is to supplement the animal with such diet that minimizes the partitioning of nutrients. Vitamin E and poly unsaturated fatty acid have been reported to have an active role towards host’s response to infection. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of vitamin E and PUFA on the growth performance and immunological response of finishing pigs challenged with LPS. A total of 80 pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] with an initial BW of 50.7 ± 3.0 kg were used in a 6-wk trial. Pigs were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments. Treatments were: 1) CON, basal diet; 2) V, basal diet + 0.06% vitamin E; 3) P, basal diet + 0.75% PUFA; 4) VP, basal diet + 0.06% vitamin E + 0.75% PUFA. Each treatment consisted of 4 replications with 5 pigs per pen. LPS injection was administered to all pigs twice a week throughout the experimental period. Supplementation of vitamin E and PUFA in the diet led to significant increase (P<0.05) in average daily gain (758 vs. 618 g) during 4 to 6 wk trail compared to CON. Pigs fed VP diet had lower (P<0.05) concentration of cortisol (2^nd wk, 2.75 vs. 4.06 ug/dL; 4^th wk, 2.08 vs. 3.04 ug/dL; 6wk, 4.43 vs. 5.59 ug/dL) and white blood cells (4^th wk, 16.37 vs. 20.29 ×10³/uL) compared with that fed basal diet. Pigs fed basal diet had higher (P<0.05) concentration of tumor necrosis factor-α (2^nd wk, 39.1 vs. 31.2, 28.3, 24.4 pg/mL; 6^th wk, 74.4 vs. 70.9, 70.9, 68.0 pg/mL) and Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2; 2^nd wk, 91.69 vs. 80.96, 73.21, 72.97 pg/mL) than that in treatment V, P and VP. The PGE2 concentration was reduced by supplementation of PUFA or PUFA with vitamin E (4^th wk, 15.7%; 6^th wk, 34.8%). The difference of lean percentage between initial day and final day was higher (P<0.05; 1.2, 1.5, 2.1 vs. 0.3) in treatment V, P and VP than that in CON. Results indicate that interactive combination of vitamin E and PUFA have positive influence on average daily gain and immune response in LPS challenged finishing pigs.

Keywords: finishing pigs, poly unsaturated fatty acid, vitamin E