Dietary Palygorskite Clay-Adsorbed Nano-ZnO Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Barrier Function of Weanling Pigs

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of PNZ on intestinal mucosal barrier function in weaning piglets. A total of 210, 21-day-old piglets with similar body weights (6.30 ± 0.51 kg) were randomly allocated into seven groups: control group (CON), antibiotic group (ANT), ZnO group (ZO), nano-ZnO group (NZO) and low, middle, and high PNZ groups (LPNZ, MPNZ, and HPNZ). The seven groups were, respectively, fed control diets or control diets supplemented with antibiotics; 3,000 mg/kg ZnO; 800 mg/kg nano-ZnO; 700, 1,000, or 1,300 mg/kg PNZ. More integrated intestinal villi were observed in the LPNZ group. In the jejunum of LPNZ group, the crypt depth significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (V/C) significantly increased (P < 0.05). In addition, the villus width and surface area of the ileum were significantly increased in the LPNZ group (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation with PNZ can significantly increase the number of goblet cells in the mucosa of the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.05), decrease the contents of TNF-α and IL-1β (P < 0.05), and increase the contents of sIgA and IL-4 in the jejunal and ileal mucosa (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the mRNA expression of MCU2 and ZO1 in PNZ group were significantly increased (P < 0.05), the mRNA expression of TLR4 and MyD88 was downregulated (P < 0.05). With increasing levels of PNZ, decreased proinflammatory cytokines and increased intestinal mucosal barrier function in weaned pigs was observed. In conclusion, supplementation with PNZ could effectively improve the intestinal barrier function of weanling piglets and potentially could replace the use of high doses of ZnO and antibiotics. The appropriate dose of PNZ for supplementation was 700 mg/kg.

Effects of dietary supplementation with different levels of palygorskite-based composite on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and meat quality of broiler chickens

“…A Zn/Cu-modified Pal composite has been found to protect Salmonella -infected chickens via attenuating intestinal mucosal barrier damage and relieving intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress ( Zhang et al, 2021 ). Likewise, an incorporation of Pal-adsorbed nano ZnO was reported to be beneficial for maintenance of intestinal barrier function in weanling piglets ( Yu et al, 2022 ). In addition to this, the loaded bioactive substances in PBC are actually available and therefore can be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract ( Yan et al, 2016 ; Yang et al, 2016 , 2017a , b ; Oceľová et al, 2019 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ), which would also contribute to the improved feed conversion efficiency, mainly due to their multiple biological functions as summarized previously ( Abd El-Hack et al, 2017 , 2022 ).…”

Dietary Palygorskite-Based Antibacterial Agent Supplementation as an Alternative to Antibiotics Improves Growth Performance, Blood Parameters, and Rumen Microbiota in Sheep

“…As China completely banned the use of antibiotics in animal feed in 2022, we need to develop new alternatives to antibiotics to maintain animal health and production. Previous research has indicated that Pal could improve animal performance [5,20,21]. Supplementing the diet of broilers with 1000 mg/kg PAA can reduce the feed conversion ratio [5].…”

“…October. 20,2020) to split the sequence into multiple OTUs according to the sequence similarity after preprocessing the sequence data to generate high-quality sequences [18]. A sequence similarity ≥97% was classified as an Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU).…”

Effects of different combinations of antibacterial compound supplements in calf pellets on growth performance, health, blood parameters, and rumen microbiome of dairy calves

“…It is used as a feed additive owing to its high adsorption capacity ( 12 ). It can absorb harmful substances such as intestinal pathogenic bacteria and mycotoxins, and plays a key role in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea and gastrointestinal diseases in animals ( 13 ). The supplementation of piglet diets with attapulgite can improve the intestinal barrier function of weanling piglets and substitute for high doses of ZnO and antibiotics ( 13 ).…”

“…It can absorb harmful substances such as intestinal pathogenic bacteria and mycotoxins, and plays a key role in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea and gastrointestinal diseases in animals ( 13 ). The supplementation of piglet diets with attapulgite can improve the intestinal barrier function of weanling piglets and substitute for high doses of ZnO and antibiotics ( 13 ). In addition, the addition of 2000 mg/kg PAL to feed can increase the ADG of Holstein calves, improve calf immune levels and antioxidant capacity, regulate intestinal flora, and reduce the incidence of diarrhea ( 14 ).…”