Effects of grasshopper antimicrobial peptides on growth performance,immunity,and intestinal barrier of piglets

LUO Xue; YU Wei-hui

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2024.21.008

Abstract：The study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of grasshopper antimicrobial peptides on the growth performance,immune function,and intestinal barrier of piglets.Twenty-one-day-old weaned piglets with a body weight of about 7.0 kg were divided into four groups with four replicates per group and eight weaned piglets per replicate according to a single-factor design.Piglets in each group were fed diets supplemented with 0(control group),100(group A),200(group B)and 400 mg/kg(group C),respectively.The pre-test period was one week and the formal test period was six weeks.The results showed that compared with the control group,the final weight and average daily gain of piglets in groups B and C were significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the diarrhea rate and feed to gain ratio of piglets in all antimicrobial peptide groups were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The diamine oxidase(DAO)activity and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)content in serum of piglets in group B were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),the concentrations of interleukin-6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in serum of groups B and C were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),and the content of interleukin-10(IL-10)in serum of all antimicrobial peptide groups was significantly increased(P＜0.05).The mRNA relative expression levels of atretic protein(Occludin)and atretic zonule protein-1(ZO-1)in colon mucosa of piglets in groups B and C were significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the mRNA relative expression levels of toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The study indicates that dietary supplementation of grasshopper antimicrobial peptides can increase growth performance,reduce diarrhea rate,regulate serum immune cytokine levels,and enhance intestinal barrier function of piglets,and the optimal supplemental level of grasshopper antimicrobial peptides is 200 mg/kg.