The supplementation with fermented pine needles (Pinus ponderosa) improve performance and jejunal barrier function in weaned pigs

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Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of fermented pine needles on growth performance, intestinal barrier function and immunological reaction of piglets after weaning. In total, 200 28-day-old weaned piglets were selected and randomly allocated into 5 feeding groups: control group (standard basal diet, CON), non-fermented pine needles group (2.0% non-fermented pine needles, NF); and three fermented pine needle groups (FR1, FR2, FR3) supplemented with 1.0%, 2.0% and 3.0% fermented pine needles for 28 d. The data showed that fermentation pine needles supplementation significantly promote average daily gain (ADG), optimize feed conversion ratio (F/G), and decrease the diarrhea morbidity of post-weaning piglets ( P < 0.05). Compared with the CON and NF groups, serum D-lactic acid diamine oxidase (DAO) activity were significantly reduced in fermented treatment groups ( P < 0.05). Moreover, on day 14 of the experiment, the serum and jejunal mucosal concentrations of total nitric oxide synthase (TNOS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, and IL-6 were significantly lower in fermented groups than those in the CON group, except for jejunal mucosal IL-1β ( P < 0.05). Compared with piglets in the control group, dietary fermented pine needles supplementation significantly decreased serum IL-1β and jejunal mucosal TNF-α levels in weaned piglets on day 28 of the experiment ( P < 0.05). Fermented pine needle supplementation significantly elevated serum and jejunal mucosal IL-10 contents, as well as the mRNA abundances of Occludin, ZO-1, Claudin-1 , and IL-10 in jejunal mucosa compared with the CON group ( P < 0.05). Meanwhile, fermented pine needle treatments significantly reduced the jejunal mucosal mRNA expression of nuclear factor kappa-B ( NF- κ B ) and IL-6 compared to the CON group ( P < 0.05). In summary, dietary fermented pine needles improve growth performance and reduce diarrhea incidence of weaned piglets, which ia attributed to regulated nitric oxide synthase activity, maintained jejunal barrier integrity, and balanced secretion and gene expression of intestinal cytokines.

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