Effects of supplementing sow diets during late gestation with Pennisetum purpureum on antioxidant indices, immune parameters and faecal microbiota

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adding Pennisetum purpureum (P. purpureum, also known as Napier grass or elephant grass) to the diets of late gestation on the antioxidant indexes, immune indexes and faecal microbiota of sows. At the 90 days of gestation, 300 healthy sows were randomly divided into three groups, and they received the basic commercial diet or added 5% P. purpureum and 10% P. purpureum, respectively. The experiment started from 90 days of gestation to parturition. The results showed that the total antioxidant capacity, immunoglobulins and serum equol concentrations of sows on 100 days of gestation and at parturition increased linearly (p < .05) with the increase of the content of P. purpureum in the gestation diet. The 5% P. purpureum increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes (p = .027) and Actinobacteria (p < .001) at phylum level, Coriobacteriaceae (p < .001) at family level and Prevotellaceae_UCG_001 (p = .004) at genus level, and decreased the relative abundance of Escherichia_Shigella (p < .001) at genus level. In summary, this study shows that the additive of P. purpureum can increase the concentration of serum equol, improve the antioxidant capacity and immune function of sow in late gestation. In addition, the additive of 5% P. purpureum in the diet might change the composition of intestinal microbiota of sows, particularly the relative abundance of Coriobacteriaceae (p < .001) increased.

Nutritional strategies to alleviate oxidative stress in sows

“…4 ). Adding Pennisetum (5% to 10%) increases the concentration of serum equol and elevates the antioxidant capacity and immune function of sows in late pregnancy by modifying the gut microbiota (increasing the abundance of Coriobacteriaceae ) ( Huang et al., 2021 , Huang et al., 2021 ). In addition, higher activities of GSH-Px and insulin secretion index sensitivity in the serum of sows and lower concentrations of ROS and 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine were observed when sows were fed 2.2% konjac flour compared with the control ( Tan et al., 2016 ).…”

“…Mechanistically, cysteamine promotes the transport of cysteine into cells for GSH synthesis, thereby achieving cell redox homeostasis ( Besouw et al., 2013 ). Dietary CS (100 to 500 mg/kg) supplementation could partially improve the antioxidant status of sows and their offspring, increase the mean birth weight of piglets (from 1.4 to 1.6 kg), and reduce stillbirth (from 12% to 6%) ( Huang et al., 2021 , Huang et al., 2021 ). It is also possible to increase GSH levels in the sow's placenta and increase the placental vascular density, which is beneficial to the growth and survival of the embryo ( Huang et al., 2021 , Huang et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Dietary CS (100 to 500 mg/kg) supplementation could partially improve the antioxidant status of sows and their offspring, increase the mean birth weight of piglets (from 1.4 to 1.6 kg), and reduce stillbirth (from 12% to 6%) ( Huang et al., 2021 , Huang et al., 2021 ). It is also possible to increase GSH levels in the sow's placenta and increase the placental vascular density, which is beneficial to the growth and survival of the embryo ( Huang et al., 2021 , Huang et al., 2021 ). The potential mechanisms by which CS protects cells against oxidative stress are listed as follows.…”

“… Breed, feeding time, replicate number, and products Antioxidant state of sows and piglets Reproductive and lactation performance Other effects References Breed: Landrace × York sow Period: G85 to L21 Product: cysteamine (100 to 500 mg/kg) of CS, but 100 mg/kg is the best. Replicate number: 21 sows/group Sow serum (L0) ↑GSH Sow Placenta (parturition): ↑T-AOC Piglet serum (at birth): ↑GSH Colostrum: ↑GSH Reproduction: ↓Stillbirth rates, Invalid piglet rates; ↑Placental efficiency Huang et al., 2021 , Huang et al., 2021 Breed: Landrace × Large White Period: G85 to delivery Product: n-acetyl-cysteine (500 mg/kg) Replicate number: 9 sows/group Sow serum (parturition): ↑GSH-Px, SOD, T-AOC; ↓H 2 O 2 , MDA Sow Placenta (parturition): ↑GSH-Px, NO; ↓SOD, MDA Sow serum (at parturition): ↓IL-1β, IL-18 Sow Placenta (at parturition): ↑IGF-1, IGF-2, E-cadherin Luo et al. (2019) Breed: Landrace × Yorkshire Period: G90 to parturition Product: β-carotene (30 or 90 mg/kg but 90 mg/kg is better) Replicate number: 16 sows/group Sow serum (parturition): ↑GSH-Px, NO β-carotene may increase NO production by up-regulating the relative abundance of Corynebacterium Xupeng et al.…”

Effects of Exogenous Strigolactone on the Physiological and Ecological Characteristics of Pennisetum Purpureum Schum. Seedlings under Drought Stress

“…P. Purpureum has few pests and diseases, fast growth, and high yield and contains a large amount of crude protein and soluble sugar, which is a kind of high-yielding and high-quality forage grass with economic and ecological bene ts for sustainable development. At present, studies on P. Purpureum have focused on application (Huang et al 2021; Ujang et al 2021) and nutritional value (Monção et al 2020), whereas the effects of plant growth regulators such as SLs on drought stress in P. Purpureum have not been reported. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to study the effects of exogenous SLs on the growth, photosynthetic characteristics, fresh weight, dry weight, main root length, endogenous abscisic acid (ABA), and photosynthetic key enzyme activities of P. Purpureum under drought stress in order to reveal the regulatory mechanism of exogenous SL application on P. Purpureum in response to drought stress and provide a theoretical basis for the application and research of exogenous plant growth regulators such as SLs to improve the drought resistance of P. Purpureum.…”