Effects of dietary tributyrin and physterol ester supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, microbiota and metabolites in weaned piglets

Abstract

Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary tributyrin (TB) and physterol ester (PSE) supplementation on the growth performance and intestinal health of weaned piglets. Methods and Results:Ninety-six piglets were randomly allocated to one of four groups, including a control group (basal diet), TB group (basal diet + 1500 g t −1 TB), PSE group (basal diet + 300 g t −1 PSE) and TB + PSE group (basal diet + 1500 g t −1 TB + 300 g t −1 PSE). All groups had eight replicates with three piglets per replicate.The experiment lasted for 28 days. The results showed that dietary TB supplementation increased (p < 0.05) average daily feed intake and average daily gain, as well as the acetate and butyrate concentration in ileum, and dietary PSE supplementation decreased (p < 0.05) the ratio of feed to gain (F/G) on days 1-14 of the trial. Dietary TB or PSE alone supplementation improved the ratio of villus height to crypt depth (VH/CD) and the expression level of Occludin in ileum. The linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis identified eight biomarkers in the control group, 18 in the TB + PSE group, two in the PSE group in ileum respectively. Correlation analysis showed that the relative abundances of Enterococcus, and Streptococcus were positively correlated (p < 0.05) with propionate concentration, while the relative abundance of Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 was negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with acetate concentration in ileum. Conclusion:These findings suggest that dietary TB or PSE alone supplementation could alter the growth performance, intestinal morphology, microbiota community and metabolites of weaned piglets. Significance and Impact of the Study:Weaning stress is a major cause of slow growth and increased diarrhoea in piglets. This study demonstrated that dietary TB and PSE presented a beneficial role in growth performance and gut health via regulating intestinal morphology, microbiota composition and metabolites.

Effect of Tributyrin on Growth Performance and Pathway by which Tributyrin Regulates Oligopeptide Transporter 1 in Juvenile Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

“…Tributyrin has been investigated to play similar roles to those of butyrate to affect the growth of animals [ 19 , 20 ]. Butyrate induced the mRNA expression of di/tri-peptide transporter PepT1 and also enhanced its transporting activity [ 30 ].…”

“…Until now, tributyrin was primarily used as a feed additive to improve intestinal function, growth performance, immunity, intestinal flora, and the meat quality of mammals or poultry. Tributyrin can significantly improve the feed intake and daily weight of weaned piglets, reduce piglets’ diarrhea, improve the intestinal morphological structure, and alter intestinal microbiota and metabolites [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Dietary supplementation with tributyrin and glycerol monolaurate has been shown to improve the growth performance and feed conversion and change the rumen microbiome of weaned lambs [ 20 ].…”

Effects of Dietary Tributyrin on Growth Performance, Biochemical Indices, and Intestinal Microbiota of Yellow-Feathered Broilers

“…Dietary supplementation with tributyrin has been demonstrated to improve animal production performance and disease resistance in monogastrics [ 27 , 28 , 29 ] and ruminants [ 30 ]. Notably, the positive effect of tributyrin may be attributed to the production of butyrate, which can promote the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal mucosal cells and improve nutrient absorption and utilization [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Tributyrin and anise mixture supplementation improves growth performance, nutrient digestibility, jejunal villus height, and fecal microbiota in weaned pigs

“…When feeding animals with a mixture of tributyrin and herbderived extract, an increase in growth performance and a decrease in intestinal harmful bacteria were observed (16). Chen et al (17) found that tributyrin and herb-derived extract mixture supplementation was capable to improve growth performance, maintain intestinal mucosal integrity, and regulate intestinal microbiota in weaned pigs.…”