Effects of copper hydroxychloride and distillers dried grains with solubles on intestinal microbial concentration and apparent ileal and total tract digestibility of energy and nutrients by growing pigs1

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that Cu hydroxychloride improves nutrient digestibility and alters the concentration of microbial protein in the small intestine or large intestine by pigs fed a corn-soybean meal diet or a diet based on corn, soybean meal, and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Twenty-four barrows (33.3 ± 3.4 kg) that had a T-cannula installed in the distal ileum were allotted to a 2 × 2 factorial design with 2 levels of DDGS (0% or 45%) and 2 levels of supplemental Cu from Cu hydroxychloride (0 or 150 mg/kg). A 2-period switch back design with the 4 diets and 6 replicate pigs per diet in each period was used resulting in 12 replicate pigs per diet for the 2 periods. The initial 9 d of each period was considered an adaptation period to the experimental diets. For each period, feces were collected on days 10, 11, and 12, and ileal digesta were collected for 8 h on days 13 and 14. Results indicated that inclusion of 45% DDGS to diets reduced (P < 0.05) the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of AA and the AID and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter, gross energy, and crude protein. In contrast, inclusion of DDGS to diets increased (P < 0.05) the AID and the ATTD of acid hydrolyzed ether extract and the concentration of microbial protein in the hindgut (P < 0.05). However, the total concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in ileal digesta and in feces from pigs fed the DDGS diets were not different from concentrations in pigs fed diets without DDGS. The AID and ATTD of dry matter, gross energy, and crude protein were not affected by dietary Cu concentrations, but the AID and ATTD of acid hydrolyzed ether extract were greater (P < 0.05) in diets supplemented with Cu hydroxychloride compared with diets without Cu hydroxychloride. There was also a reduction (P < 0.05) in the concentration of microbial protein and a tendency for a reduction (P < 0.10) in the total concentration of VFA in feces when diets were supplemented with Cu hydroxychloride. In conclusion, supplementation of Cu hydroxychloride to diets improved AID and ATTD of acid hydrolyzed ether extract and reduced the concentration of microbial protein in the large intestine and this effect was observed in diets containing DDGS as well as in diets without DDGS.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Contributes to Copper-Induced Pyroptosis via Regulating the IRE1α-XBP1 Pathway in Pig Jejunal Epithelial Cells

“…It is reported that the adequate use of Cu can improve intestinal structure and function. 2 Therefore, the viewpoint that Cu can systematically improve animal growth performance is generally recognized. According to the NRC (2012), the recommended nutrient intake of Cu in weaned pigs is 3−6 mg/kg in diet.…”

How copper can impact pig growth: comparing the effect of copper sulfate and monovalent copper oxide on oxidative status, inflammation, gene abundance, and microbial modulation as potential mechanisms of action

“…Copper supplementation may act by reducing the total pathogenic organism in the gut ( Xia et al, 2004 ) and reducing susceptibility to disease due to its antimicrobial effect. In fact, one of the possible mechanisms by which Cu may promote growth in animals is restricting the growth of microbes in the intestinal tract ( Espinosa et al, 2019 ) and increasing nutrient absorption ( Villagómez-Estrada et al, 2020 ).…”

Effects of copper hydroxychloride on growth performance and abundance of genes involved in lipid metabolism of growing pigs

“…Addition of 175 mg Cu/kg reduced the number of coliforms in the large intestine and may have suppressed pathogen adhesion and invasion in the intestinal mucosa of pigs (Højberg et al, 2005), and pigs fed diets containing added dietary Cu at 200 mg/kg had less crypt depth and greater villous length than pigs fed a control diet containing 20 mg/kg of Cu (Zhao et al, 2007). However, addition of 150 mg Cu/kg from copper hydroxychloride did not improve apparent total tract digestibility of energy or true total tract digestibility of fat (Espinosa et al, 2017(Espinosa et al, , 2019, but Gonzalez-Esquerra et al ( 2019) demonstrated that addition of 150 mg Cu/kg increased the mRNA expression of ghrelin, which may partially explain the observed improvement in growth performance. Dietary Cu may also affect the cholesterol profile and the degree of saturation of the animals' lipid reserves (Elliot and Bowland, 1968;Kaya et al, 2006).…”

“…Addition of 125 to 280 mg Cu/kg reduced the concentration of serum polyunsaturated fatty acids, increased iodine value of back fat, and increased proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in the outer back fat, inner back fat, and perinephric back fat of pigs with BWs of 26 to 70 kg (Elliot and Bowland, 1968;Dove, 1993;Zhao et al, 2007;Wu et al, 2018). The addition of 150 mg Cu/kg reduces the concentration of intestinal microbial protein and total volatile fatty acids (Espinosa et al, 2019). Thus, it appears that copper hydroxychloride, in addition to modulating microbial populations in the hindgut of pigs, may impact certain aspects of energy metabolism.…”