Dietary Taurine Improves Growth Performance and Intestine Health via the GSH/GSSG Antioxidant System and Nrf2/ARE Signaling Pathway in Weaned Piglets

Abstract

Early weaning of piglets was prone to increase reactive oxygen species, disrupt the redox balance, decrease antioxidant capacity, cause oxidative stress and intestinal oxidative damage, and lead to diarrhea in piglets. This research aimed to study dietary taurine (Tau) supplementation at a level relieving intestinal oxidative damage in early-weaned piglets. A total of 48 piglets were assigned to four groups of 12 individuals and fed a basal diet with 0.0% Tau (CON), 0.2% Tau (L-Tau), 0.3% Tau (M-Tau), or 0.4% Tau (H-Tau), respectively. The animal experiment lasted 30 days. The final weight, weight gain, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate increased with the increase in dietary Tau (Linear, p p p p 2•− and •OH clearance rate in serum, liver, and jejunum mucosa increased with the increase in dietary Tau (Linear, p p p p HO-1 and GPX1 in the H-Tau group were higher than that in the L-Tau, M-Tau, and CON groups (p SOD1 and Nrf2 in the M-Tau and H-Tau groups were higher than in the L-Tau and CON groups (p SOD2 in the L-Tau, M-Tau, and H-Tau groups was higher than in the CON group (p p occludens 1 and claudin 1 in the H-Tau group were higher than that in the CON, L-Tau, and M-Tau (p occludin in the L-Tau, M-Tau, and H-Tau groups was higher than that in CON (p p p < 0.05). Collectively, dietary supplementation of 0.3% and 0.4% Tau in feed could significantly improve the growth performance and enhance the antioxidant capacity of piglets.

Keywords

• taurine
• weaned piglets
• antioxidant capacity
• intestine healthy
• microorganism
• growth performance