Dietary Zinc-Loaded Montmorillonite Supplementation Improves Growth Performance, Diarrhea, Intestinal Barrier Function and Regulating Gut Microbiota in Weaned Piglets
by
and
Mingxing Huang
1, 
Jiang Yi
1,
Hua Chen
2,
Yuehui Song
1,
Xinyue Hu
1,
Hua Zhou
1,* and
Nianhua Zhu
1,* 1
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
2
College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2023, 13(23), 3630; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13233630
Submission received: 22 September 2023
/
Revised: 20 October 2023
/
Accepted: 21 November 2023
/
Published: 23 November 2023
(This article belongs to the Section Pigs)
Simple Summary
Information about the effects of zinc-loaded montmorillonite on pigs is scarce. This present study studied the effects of low-dose zinc-loaded montmorillonite on the growth performance, diarrhea, intestinal function, and microbial communities in weaned pigs, which contributed a novel way to reducing the quantities of ZnO in the diet for weaned piglets.
Abstract
This experiment was conducted to investigate whether low-dose zinc-loaded montmorillonite (Zn-MMT) could be used as a potential alternative for high-dose conventional ZnO in preventing diarrhea in weaned piglets. In total, 180 piglets were randomly divided to receive either of the three treatments, with six replicates per treatment and 10 piglets per replicate. The treatments were the control group (CT), the Zn-MMT group (ZM), and the ZnO group (ZO). Compared with the CT group, the ZM and ZO groups exhibited increased ADG at 14–28 days and during the whole period (p < 0.05), and a significantly decreased diarrhea rate during the whole period (p < 0.01). The activities of T-AOC and SOD were significantly increased (p < 0.05), whereas the MDA level decreased (p < 0.05) in the serum and colonic mucosa of Zn-MMT- and ZnO-fed piglets. Dietary supplementation with Zn-MMT and ZnO decreased the contents of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, DAO, and LPS in the serum and colonic mucosa (p < 0.01), and increased the IL-10 level (p < 0.01). The relative mRNA expressions of TLR-4, claudin 2, Pbd1, and MUC2 were elevated in the colonic mucosa of the Zn-MMT and ZnO groups (p < 0.05). 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis revealed that the abundances of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria in the ileum and the populations of Ruminnococcus and Faecalibacterium in the cecum were higher in the CT group than in the other two groups. Collectively, dietary addition of Zn from Zn-MMT was comparable to Zn from ZnO for increasing growth performance, alleviating diarrhea, as well as improving mucosal barrier integrity, and regulating the gut microbiota of weaned piglets.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with a minor correction to the Funding statement. This change does not affect the scientific content of the article.
