• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.1035-1040
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• 2003

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of fat sources on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, serum traits and intestinal morphology in weaning pigs. A total of 128 weaning pigs (Landrace${\times}$Large White${\times}$Duroc, $21{\pm}2$ days of age, $5.82{\pm}0.13kg$ of average initial body weight) were allotted in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with four treatments: 1) corn oil, 2) soybean oil, 3) tallow and 4) fish oil. Each treatment had 8 replicates with 4 pigs per pen. During phase I period (d 0 to 14), pigs fed corn oil or soybean oil diet tended to show higher ADG and FCR than any other treatments although there was no significant difference. During phase II period (d 15 to 28), pigs fed corn oil diet showed better ADG and ADFI than pigs fed soybean oil, tallow or fish oil. For overall period, growth performance of weaning pigs was improved (p<0.05) when pigs were fed soybean oil or corn oil. Apparent digestibility of energy and fat was improved when pigs were fed corn oil diet (p<0.05). Supplementation of corn oil resulted in higher serum triglyceride concentration than the other treatments (p<0.05). However, there was a lower cholesterol concentration when corn oil was provided compared to tallow or fish oil. Pigs fed corn oil tended to have increased villus height compared with soybean oil, tallow or fish oil treatment (p<0.05). This experiment suggested that vegetable oils such as corn oil or soybean oil, were much better fat source for improving growth performance of weaning pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.582-589
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• 2008

This study attempted to determine effects of recombinant porcine epidermal growth factor (pEGF) and glutamine (Gln) supplement on the growth performance and intestinal development of piglets weaned at 14 days of age. A total of ninety-six piglets were allotted to one of four dietary treatments which comprised inclusion of 1.0 mg pEGF supernatant/kg diet or 0.5% Gln both alone and in combination. Each treatment consisted of four replicates with six pigs per pen for a 28 days experimental period. Two pigs per replicate were sacrificed and gastrointestinal tract samples were collected on day 14. Data showed that dietary treatment failed to promote growth performance. On day 14, diets supplemented with pEGF elevated pancreatic chymotrypsin, jejunal alkaline phosphatase, sucrase, lactase and maltase activities (p<0.05), but failed to alter the small intestinal villus morphology, DNA, or protein content of gastrointestinal mucosa. Diets supplemented with Gln increased pancreatic chymotrypsin activity, tended to enhance the protein contents of gastric (p = 0.08) and jejunal mucosa (p = 0.09) but did not influence the serum IgA level or the enzyme activity in the gastrointestinal tract. On day 28, the diets supplemented with Gln increasedt (p<0.05) serum IgA and the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells by PHA stimulation. However, a combination of pEGF and Gln did not have a synergistic effect on these biomarkers in early-weaned piglets. The results demonstrate that diets supplemented with recombinant pEGF supernatant indeed improve intestinal digestive enzyme activity and diets supplemented with Gln increases the immune response in early-weaned piglets.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.477-486
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• 2017

This review provides an overview of dietary nucleotides as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics for weaning pigs. Dietary nucleotides are composed of DNA or RNA molecules and are normally contained in protein-rich feed ingredient, brewer's yeast, yeast extract, and milk. Weaning pigs are suffering from several stresses, such as environmental challenges (i.e. crowding, transportation, and feeding). Such stressors can damage the intestinal epithelium and cause an invasion by Escherichia coli, secondary inflammatory responses, and post weaning diarrhea. To overcome weaning disorder, people often use antibiotics which reduce symptoms and boost growth performance. However, since antibiotics were banned due to concerns of antibiotic resistant bacteria, researchers are studying alternative materials to antibiotics. Dietary nucleotides are one of the alternative materials for replacing antibiotics and can be used in abnormal conditions, such as weaning diarrhea, low digestibility, and disease condition. Nucleotides have substances that have important roles in cell division and cell growth, affecting growth performance, intestinal condition, and immunological effect at the weaning stage. However, nucleotides' composition is very different between sources and this aspect makes it difficult to utilize nucleotides at the weaning stage. Therefore, this review paper focuses on i) the characteristics and functions of dietary nucleotides and ii) the effect of dietary nucleotides on the growth performance and immune system of pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.1194-1201
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• 2015

This study investigated the effect of oxidized soybean oil in the diet of young chickens on growth performance and intestinal oxidative stress, and indices of intestinal immune function. Corn-soybean-based diets containing 2% mixtures of fresh and oxidized soybean oil provided 6 levels (0.15, 1.01, 3.14, 4.95, 7.05, and $8.97meqO_2/kg$) of peroxide value (POV) in the diets. Each dietary treatment, fed for 22 d, had 6 replicates, each containing 30 birds (n = 1,080). Increasing POV levels reduced average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the broilers during d 1 to 10, body weight and average daily gain at d 22 but did not affect overall ADFI. Concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased in plasma and jejunum as POV increased but total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) declined in plasma and jejunum. Catalase (CAT) activity declined in plasma and jejunum as did plasma glutathione S-transferase (GST). Effects were apparent at POV exceeding $3.14meqO_2/kg$ for early ADFI and MDA in jejunum, and POV exceeding $1.01meqO_2/kg$ for CAT in plasma and jejunum, GST in plasma and T-AOC in jejunum. Relative jejunal abundance of nuclear factor kappa B ($NF-{\kappa}B$) P50 and $NF-{\kappa}B$ P65 increased as dietary POV increased. Increasing POV levels reduced the jejunal concentrations of secretory immunoglobulin A and cluster of differentiation (CD) 4 and CD8 molecules with differences from controls apparent at dietary POV of 3.14 to $4.95meqO_2/kg$. These findings indicated that growth performance, feed intake, and the local immune system of the small intestine were compromised by oxidative stress when young broilers were fed moderately oxidized soybean oil.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.1156-1166
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• 2020

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of compound organic acid calcium (COAC) on growth performance, hepatic antioxidant status and intestinal barrier of male broilers under high ambient temperature (32.7℃). Methods: Nine hundred healthy one-d-old Cobb-500 male broiler chicks were randomly assigned into three groups with six replicates of 50 birds each. A basal diet supplemented with 0% (control), 0.4% and 0.8% COAC, respectively were fed to birds for 6 weeks. All treatments were under high ambient indoor temperature of 32.7℃, and had a constant calcium and available phosphorus ratio. Results: The results showed that, compared with control, the average daily gain of broilers in 0.4% and 0.8% was significantly increased and the ratio of feed to gain in in 0.4% and 0.8% was significantly decreased at 1 to 21, 22 to 42 and 1 to 42 days of age (p<0.05). Compared with control, 0.8% COAC slightly decreased (p = 0.093) the content of malondialdehyde in liver at 42 days of age while 0.4% COAC significantly decreased (p<0.05) the activity of alkaline phosphatase. Furthermore, 0.4% COAC significantly enhanced the intestinal barrier function via increasing jejunal and ileal ocln transcription, promoting jejunal mucin 2 transcription at 42 days of age (p<0.05), and decreasing jejunal toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) and ileal TLR-15, inducible nitric oxide synthase compared with control group (p<0.05). Whereas, no significant differences on the transcription of interleukin-1β in jejunum and ileum were observed among three treatments (p>0.05). Overall, heat stress caused by high natural environment temperature may induce the damage to hepatic antioxidation and intestinal barrier. Conclusion: Dietary inclusion of COAC can improve the tolerance of broilers to thermal environment through the modification of antioxidative parameters in liver and the mRNA expression of genes in intestinal barrier, resulting in an optimal inclusion level of 0.4%.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.815-826
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• 2021

The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of stocking density (SD) and dietary supplementation of vitamin C on growth performance, meat quality, intestinal permeability, and stress indicators in broiler chickens. The study was conducted using a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of 2 different SD and 2 supplemental levels of dietary vitamin C. A total of 1,368 Ross 308 broiler chickens of 21 days of age with similar body weights (BW) were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatments with 6 replicates each. Different numbers of birds per identical floor pen (2.0 m × 2.4 m) were used to create 2 different SD levels of low SD (9 birds/m²) and high SD (18 birds/m²). The basal diet was formulated with no supplemental vitamin C to meet or exceed nutrient recommendations of the Ross 308 manual. The other diet was prepared by supplementing 200 mg/kg vitamin C in the basal diet. The study lasted for 14 days. At the end of the study, 3 male birds per replicate were selected to analyze meat quality, intestinal permeability, and stress indicators such as blood heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) and feather corticosterone (CORT) concentrations. Results indicated that there were no interactions between different SD and dietary supplementation of vitamin C for all measurements. For the main effects of SD, birds raised at high SD had less (p < 0.01) BW, BW gain, and feed intake with increasing stress responses including greater blood H:L and feather CORT concentrations (p < 0.01) than those raised at low SD. Transepithelial electrical resistance in the jejunal mucosa was decreased (p < 0.05) at high SD, indicating an increase in intestinal permeability. However, the main effects of dietary supplementation of 200 mg/kg vitamin C were insignificant for all measurements. In conclusion, high SD of broiler chickens impairs growth performance and intestinal barrier function with increasing stress responses. However, dietary supplementation of vitamin C may have little beneficial effects on broiler chickens raised at the high SD condition used in the present study.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1711-1724
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• 2022

Objective: The present study was to evaluate the effects of different rapeseed meal substitution (RSM) and glutamine (Gln) supplementation on growth performance, intestine morphology, and intestinal mucosa barrier of broilers. Methods: Four hundred and twenty Qiandongnan Xiaoxiang Chicken at 1 day of age with similar weight were chosen and were randomly assigned into 7 groups, consisting of 10 replicates per group and 6 broilers per replicate. Three groups were provided with diets separately containing 0%, 10%, and 20% RSM, and the other four groups were fed with diets separately supplemented with 0.5% and 1% Gln based on the inclusion of 10% and 20% RSM. At 21 and 42 days of age, 10 broilers per group were chosen to collect plasma and intestinal samples for further analysis. Results: The results showed that 10% RSM decreased average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily weight gain (ADG) of broilers at 21 days of age (p<0.05). Furthermore, both ADFI and ADG of broilers at 21 and 42 days of age were decreased by 20% RSM, while feed conversion ratio (FCR) was increased (p<0.05). Besides, 10% RSM resulted in lower intestinal villus height and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth, deeper crypt depth (p<0.05), combined with the lower mRNA expressions of occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) in broilers at 21 days of age (p<0.05). Similar results were also observed in broilers at 21 and 42 days of age fed with 20% RSM. However, 1% Gln improved the growth performance of broilers fed with 10% and 20% RSM (p<0.05), ameliorated intestine morphology and elevated mRNA expressions of occludin, claudin-1 and ZO-1 (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, the increasing inclusion of RSM resulted in more serious effects on broilers, however, 1.0% Gln could reverse the negative effects induced by the inclusion of RSM.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.605-607
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• 1998

A total of 28 traditional drinks derived from 23 plant species in 19 families were tested for their in vitro growth-inhibiting effects against Bifidobacterium adolescents, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Clostridium perfringens, and Escherichia coil using a paper disc agar diffusion method under anaerobic condition. The responses varied with bacterial strain, plant species and tissue sampled. In a test with C. perfringens at 5 and 10 mg/disc, potent growth inhibition was produced from the extracts of Eucommia ulmoides stems, Pinus densiflora leaves and shoots, Thea sinensis leaves (green and oolong teas) and Zingiber officinale roots. All materials tested did not adversely affect the growth of bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and E. coli. These results may be an indication of at least one of the pharmacological activities of these plant-derived drinks.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2011

A total of 96 crossbred weanling barrows aged 21 days were randomly allocated to 32 pens of a new nursery to investigate the effects of antibiotics, phytogenics, and probiotics on intestinal growth and development. The animals were fed a set of three-phase basal diets containing 0.3% zinc oxide (CON) or the basal diets supplemented with 353 ppm of a combination of tiamulin, neomycin, chlortetracycline, and oxytetracycline (ANTI), 75 ppm triterpenoid saponin plus 150 ppm mixed saccharides (HERB; Sacchapin$^{(R)}$), or $1{\times}10^7$ brewer's yeasts plus $8{\times}10^7$ spores of each of Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis per kilogram feed (PROBIO; Yeasture Plus 2B$^{(R)}$) for five weeks. Thirty-two pigs representing as many pens were slaughtered at the end of the feeding trial, after which morphological measures and digestive enzyme activities of intestinal mucosa were determined. Weight gain and gain:feed of the pigs were not affected by the dietary treatments (TRT) during the overall feeding trial. Total intestinal length was greater in PROBIO than in ANTI (P<0.05). Wet mucosa weight of the duodenum was not affected by TRT. However, jejunal mucosa weight was greater in PROBIO than in any other group sum of mucosa weights of the duodenum and jejunum was greater (P<0.05) in PROBIO than in ANTI and HERB. The height and width of duodenal villus were not affected by TRT, but crypt depth decreased (P<0.05) in response to HERB and PROBIO vs CON. Specific activities of alkaline phosphatase, sucrase, maltase, lactase, and leucine aminopeptidase in the duodenum and jejunum were not changed by TRT. In conclusion, results suggest that the present dietary treatments have no effects on growth performance of weanling pigs and that of PROBIO enhances intestinal growth and development under a clean experimental setting.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1198-1204
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with multiple enzymes composed of phytase plus carbohydrolases (ROVABIO$^{(R)}$ Max, RM) on growth performance, nutritional availability and intestinal viscosity in broiler chicks. A total of one thousand, one-day-old male broiler chicks were randomly allotted into treatment groups that received one of five experimental diets for 32 days. Each group consisted of 40 birds and all experiments included five replicates. The dietary treatments included PC (a positive control diet), NC1 (65 kcal/kg, 0.15% and 0.10% less ME, available phosphorus and calcium levels, respectively, than the PC diet), NC2 (85 kcal/kg, 0.20% and 0.10% less ME, available phosphorus and calcium levels, respectively, than the PC diet), NC1+RM (NC1 plus ROVABIO$^{(R)}$ Max) and NC2+RM (NC2 plus ROVABIO$^{(R)}$ Max). The average body weights, daily body weight gains and feed conversion rates of the chicks fed a diet containing RM improved significantly or tended to improve. The treatments also had no effect on the carcass characteristics or blood parameters, but the viscosity of the intestinal contents of the chicks fed the diet containing RM was significantly lower than that of chicks in the NC without RM groups. Additionally, chicks fed the dietary RM showed increased breaking strength and ash content of the tibia when compared to chicks that received the non-RM diets. Taken together, the results of the present study indicated that the addition of multiple enzymes consisting of phytase plus NSP enzymes improved the growth performance and mineral status of the tibia in broiler chickens fed corn-wheat-soybean meal-based diets with reduced levels of nutrients. Further, these findings suggest that the improved animal performance is associated with reduced intestinal viscosity by the dietary enzyme complex.