Piperine as potential therapy of post-weaning porcine diarrheas: an in vitro study using a porcine duodenal enteroid model

Abstract

Post-weaning diarrhea in piglets is a major problem, resulting in a significant loss in pig production. This study aimed to investigate the effects of piperine, an alkaloid abundantly found in black peppers, on biological activities related to the pathogenesis of post-weaning diarrhea using a porcine duodenal enteroid model, a newly established intestinal stem cell-derived in vitro model recapitulating physiology of porcine small intestinal epithelia. Porcine duodenal enteroid models were treated with disease-relevant pathological inducers with or without piperine (8 μg/mL and/or 20 μg/mL) before measurements of oxidative stress, mRNA, and protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) nuclear translocation, barrier leakage, and fluid secretion. We found that piperine (20 μg/mL) inhibited H2O2-induced oxidative stress, TNF-α-induced mRNA, and protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines without affecting NF-κB nuclear translocation, and prevented TNF-α-induced barrier leakage in porcine duodenal enteroid monolayers. Importantly, piperine inhibited fluid secretion induced by both forskolin and heat-stable toxins (STa) in a three-dimensional model of porcine duodenal enteroids. Collectively, piperine possesses both anti-inflammatory and anti-secretory effects in porcine enteroid models. Further research and development of piperine may provide novel interventions for the treatment of post-weaning porcine diarrhea.

Ethnopharmacology study of medicinal plants utilization for antidiarrheal remedies by Tengger tribe in Tosari District, Indonesia

“…In addition, piperine exhibited antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella sp., Proteus mirabilis, and Candida albicans (Alves et al, 2022) . The active ingredient was also known for its antidiarrheal activity (Bajad et al, 2001;Satitsri et al, 2023).…”