Drinking Water Supplemented with Acidifiers Improves the Growth Performance of Weaned Pigs and Potentially Regulates Antioxidant Capacity, Immunity, and Gastrointestinal Microbiota Diversity

Abstract

This study evaluated the potential effects of adding acidifiers to the drinking water on the growth performance, complete blood count, antioxidant indicators, and diversity of gastrointestinal microbiota for weaned pigs. A total of 400 weaned pigs were randomly divided into four treatments. Pigs were fed the same basal diet and given either water (no acidifier was added, control) or water plus blends of different formulas of acidifiers (acidifier A1, A2, or A3) for 35 days. On d 18 and 35 of the experimental period, 64 pigs (four pigs per pen) were randomly selected to collect blood for a CBC test (n = 128) and an antioxidant indicators test (n = 128); 24 pigs (six pigs per group) were randomly selected to collect fresh feces (n = 48) from the rectum for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Compared to the control, supplementing the drinking water with acidifiers improved the growth performance and survival rate of weaned pigs. Acidifier groups also increased serum catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activities, while also displaying a decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration compared to the control. The relative abundance of Firmicutes in the acidifier A1 group was greater than that in the control group (p < 0.05) on d 35; the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the acidifier A1 group was greater than that in the control group (p < 0.05) on d 18 and 35. The microbial species Subdoligranulum or Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 had significantly positive correlations with ADG and ADFI or with serum antioxidant indicators, respectively. These findings suggest that supplementing the drinking water with an acidifier has a potential as an antioxidant, which was reflected in the improvement of growth performance, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal flora.

Acidifiers Attenuate Diquat-Induced Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Responses by Regulating NF-κB/MAPK/COX-2 Pathways in IPEC-J2 Cells

“…Acidifiers, as vital feed additives in newly weaned piglets, play a critical role in the improvement of growth performance and the intestinal microbiota in pigs [ 30 ]. Our previous study found that supplementing a type of acidifier called Jinlisuan in drinking water increased the antioxidant capacity and immunity of weaned pigs [ 15 ]. However, its potential protective effects on intestinal epithelial cells and underlying molecular mechanism are not clear, especially after intestinal epithelial cells suffer from oxidative stress and present an inflammatory response [ 31 ].…”

“…In this study, we used the culture medium to dilute the liquid acidifier to analyze the optimal dosage in vitro. In the previous animal experiment, the purpose of diluting the acidifier was also achieved by adding liquid acidifier to drinking water [ 15 ]. Therefore, the effectiveness of an acidifier is determined by the dilution ratio.…”

“…Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that acidifiers exert their immune regulatory function and inhibit the invasion of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4 in vitro [ 13 , 14 ]. Our previous study also showed that supplementing the drinking water with acidifiers had the potential as antioxidants, which was reflected in the improvement of growth performance, immunity, and antioxidant capacity in pigs [ 15 ]. However, the precise molecular mechanism of acidifier action still remains unclear.…”

Insights in the Development and Uses of Alternatives to Antibiotic Growth Promoters in Poultry and Swine Production

“…Few acidifiers can form complexes with minerals such as calcium (Ca 2+ ) and zinc (Zn 2+ ) cations that will reduce their absorption in the digestive tract. Acidifiers have been generally recognized as safe (GRAS) agents since 1972 and have been used in poultry diets and drinking water for decades with positive responses on growth performance [ 95 , 96 , 97 ]. The feed acidifiers market is estimated to grow from US$2.7 billion in 2018 to US$3.5 billion by 2023 [ 98 ].…”

Antioxidants in Animal Feed

“…They concluded that melatonin supplementation during gestation could improve maternal–placental–fetal redox status and reproductive performance by ameliorating placental antioxidant status, inflammatory response and mitochondrial dysfunction. The work from Xu et al focused on the potential effects of adding acidifiers to drinking water [ 3 ]. The results showed that supplementing drinking water with an acidifier has potential as an antioxidant, which was reflected in improvements in growth performance, immunity, antioxidant capacity and intestinal flora.…”