Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T19:06:39.709Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of oral supplementation with Spirulina and Chlorella on growth and digestive health in piglets around weaning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2018

H. Furbeyre ,
J. van Milgen ,
T. Mener ,
M. Gloaguen  and
E. Labussière
H. Furbeyre
Affiliation:
PEGASE, Agrocampus Ouest, INRA, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France Cooperl Arc Atlantique, 1, rue de la Gare, 22640 Plestan, France
J. van Milgen
Affiliation:
PEGASE, Agrocampus Ouest, INRA, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France
T. Mener
Affiliation:
Cooperl Arc Atlantique, 1, rue de la Gare, 22640 Plestan, France
M. Gloaguen
Affiliation:
Cooperl Arc Atlantique, 1, rue de la Gare, 22640 Plestan, France
E. Labussière*
Affiliation:
PEGASE, Agrocampus Ouest, INRA, 35590 Saint-Gilles, France
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Weaning of piglets is associated with important changes in gut structure and function resulting from stressful events such as separation from the sow, moving to a new facility and dietary transition from a liquid to a solid feed. This may result in post-weaning diarrhoea and a decrease in feed intake and growth. In humans, the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis (SP) and the freshwater microalga Chlorella vulgaris (CV) are known for their beneficial health effects. This study aimed to determine the effects of early oral administration of Spirulina and Chlorella in piglets on mucosal architecture and cytokine expression in the intestine around weaning, and consequences on growth performance and diarrhoea incidence. The experiment was conducted on 108 suckling piglets of 14 days of age (initial BW=4.9±0.7 kg) and weaned at 28 days of age (day 0). Animals received orally 385 mg/kg BW per day of SP or CV, or water (negative control (NC)) during 4 weeks from day −14 to day 14 and their growth performance was measured daily. After weaning, growth, feed intake and diarrhoea incidence were measured daily. Intestinal morphology and functionality were assessed at day −1, day 2, and day 14. During the suckling period, average daily gain (ADG) in SP piglets was higher, resulting in a higher weaning BW compared to NC and CV piglets (P<0.05). No significant difference between treatments was observed for ADG, average daily feed intake, and gain to feed (G : F) ratio after weaning, but the extent of growth retardation after weaning was the lowest in piglets supplemented with Chlorella (P<0.01). Supplementation with Spirulina reduced diarrhoea incidence by 50% from day 0 to day 14 (P<0.05). Mucosal architecture at the jejunum was unaffected by Spirulina or Chlorella administration (P>0.10). Shorter ileal villi were measured in SP and CV piglets than in NC piglets (P<0.05). Cytokine expression did not differ between treatments in response to weaning. At day 14, IL-8 expression in the ileum was higher in SP piglets, while IL-1β expression in the jejunum was higher in CV piglets (P<0.05). This study shows that Spirulina administration around weaning alleviates diarrhoea in weaned piglets, without marked modulation of local inflammation.

Keywords

microalgaehealthdiarrhoeanutritionpig
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 12 , Issue 11 , November 2018 , pp. 2264 - 2273
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agarwal, S, Piesco, N, Johns, L and Riccelli, A 1995. Differential expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 in human monocytes in response to lipopolysaccharides from different microbes. Journal of Dental Research 74, 1057–1065.Google Scholar
AOAC 1990. Official methods of analysis, 15th edition. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Balachandran, P, Pugh, ND, Ma, G and Pasco, DS 2006. Toll-like receptor 2-dependent activation of monocytes by Spirulina polysaccharide and its immune enhancing action in mice. International Immunopharmacology 6, 1808–1814.Google Scholar
Barton, MD 2000. Antibiotic use in animal feed and its impact on human health. Nutrition Research Reviews 13, 279–299.Google Scholar
Baumann, H and Gauldie, J 1994. The acute phase response. Immunology Today 15, 74–80.Google Scholar
Boudry, G, Peron, V, Le Huerou-Luron, I, Lalles, JP and Sève, B 2004. Weaning induces both transient and long-lasting modifications of absorptive, secretory, and barrier properties of piglet intestine. Journal of Nutrition 134, 2256–2262.Google Scholar
Campbell, JM, Crenshaw, JD and Polo, J 2013. The biological stress of early weaned piglets. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 4, 19.Google Scholar
Chen, L, Xu, Y, Chen, X, Fang, C., Zhao, L. and Chen, F 2017. The maturing development of gut microbiota in commercial piglets during the weaning transition. Frontiers in Microbiology 8, 1–13.Google Scholar
Cherng, SC, Cheng, SN, Tarn, A and Chou, TC 2007. Anti-inflammatory activity of c-phycocyanin in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Life Science 81, 1431–1435.Google Scholar
Exton, MS 1997. Infection-induced anorexia: active host defence strategy. Appetite 29, 369–383.Google Scholar
Fairbrother, JM, Nadeau, E and Gyles, CL 2005. Escherichia coli in postweaning diarrhea in pigs: an update on bacterial types, pathogenesis, and prevention strategies. Animal Health Research Reviews 6, 17–39.Google Scholar
Furbeyre, H, van Milgen, J, Mener, T, Gloaguen, M and Labussière, E 2017. Effects of dietary supplementation with freshwater microalgae on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and gut health in weaned piglets. Animal 11, 183–192.Google Scholar
Goel, MK, Khanna, P and Kishore, J 2010. Understanding survival analysis: Kaplan–Meier estimate. International Journal of Ayurveda Research 1, 274–278.Google Scholar
Huang, C, Qiao, S, Li, D, Piao, X and Ren, J 2004. Effects of lactobacilli on the performance, diarrhoea incidence, VFA concentration and gastrointestinal microbial flora of weaning pigs. Asian Australasian Journal of Animal Science 17, 401–409.Google Scholar
Janczyk, P, Halle, B and Souffrant, WB 2009. Microbial community composition of the crop and ceca contents of laying hens fed diets supplemented with Chlorella vulgaris . Poultry Science 88, 2324–2332.Google Scholar
Kang, H, Salim, H, Akter, N, Kim, D, Kim, J, Bang, H, Kim, M, Na, J, Hwangbo, J and Choi, H 2013. Effect of various forms of dietary Chlorella supplementation on growth performance, immune characteristics, and intestinal microflora population of broiler chickens. The Journal of Applied Poultry Research 22, 100–108.Google Scholar
King, M, Kelly, D, Morel, P and Pluske, J 2003. Aspects of intestinal immunity in the pig around weaning. In Weaning the pig: concepts and consequences (editors. JR Pluske, J Le Dividich and MWA Verstegen), pp 219–257. Wageningen Academic Publishers, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Lallès, J, Boudry, G, Favier, C, Le Floc’h, N, Luron, I, Montagne, L, Oswald, IP, Pié, S, Piel, C and Sève, B 2004. Gut function and dysfunction in young pigs: physiology. Animal Research 53, 301–316.Google Scholar
Le Floc’h, N, Jondreville, C, Matte, JJ and Sève, B 2006. Importance of sanitary environment for growth performance and plasma nutrient homeostasis during the post-weaning period in piglets. Archives of Animal Nutrition 60, 23–34.Google Scholar
McDonald, D, Pethick, D, Mullan, B and Hampson, D 2001. Increasing viscosity of the intestinal contents alters small intestinal structure and intestinal growth, and stimulates proliferation of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in newly-weaned pigs. British Journal of Nutrition 86, 487–498.Google Scholar
Montagne, L, Le Floc’h, N, Arturo-Schaan, M, Foret, R, Urdaci, MC and Le Gall, M 2012. Comparative effects of level of dietary fiber and sanitary conditions on the growth and health of weanling pigs. Journal of Animal Science 90, 2556–2569.Google Scholar
Noblet, J and Etienne, M 1989. Estimation of sow milk nutrient output. Journal of Animal Science 67, 3352–3359.Google Scholar
Pié, S, Lallès, JP, Blazy, F, Laffitte, J, Sève, B and Oswald, IP 2004. Weaning is associated with an upregulation of expression of inflammatory cytokines in the intestine of piglets. Journal of Nutrition 134, 641–647.Google Scholar
Pluske, JR, Hampson, DJ and Williams, IH 1997. Factors influencing the structure and function of the small intestine in the weaned pigs: a review. Livestock Production Science 51, 215–236.Google Scholar
Postma, PR, Miron, TL, Olivieri, G, Barbosa, MJ, Wijffels, RH and Eppink, MHM 2015. Mild disintegration of the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris using bead milling. Bioresource Technology 184, 297–304.Google Scholar
Pugh, N, Ross, SA, ElSohly, HN, ElSohly, MA and Pasco, DS 2001. Isolation of three high molecular weight polysaccharide preparations with potent immunostimulatory activity from Spirulina platensis, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and Chlorella pyrenoidosa . Planta Medica 67, 737–742.Google Scholar
Rao, X, Huang, X, Zhou, Z and Lin, X 2013. An improvement of the 2^(−delta delta CT) method for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction data analysis. Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Biomathematics 3, 71–85.Google Scholar
Safi, C, Zebib, B, Merah, O, Pontalier, PY and Vaca-Garcia, C 2014. Morphology, composition, production, processing and applications of Chlorella vulgaris: a review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 35, 265–278.Google Scholar
Sarada, R, Pillai, MG and Ravishankar, GA 1999. Phycocyanin from Spirulina sp: influence of processing of biomass on phycocyanin yield, analysis of efficacy of extraction methods and stability studies on phycocyanin. Process Biochemistry 34, 795–801.Google Scholar
Spolaore, P, Joannis-Cassan, C, Duran, E and Isambert, A 2006. Commercial applications of microalgae. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering 101, 87–96.Google Scholar
Stokes, CR 2017. The development and role of microbial-host interactions in gut mucosal immune development. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 8, 12.Google Scholar
Sweeney, T and O’Doherty, JV 2016. Marine macroalgal extracts to maintain gut homeostasis in the weaning piglet. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 56, 84–89.Google Scholar
Syed, SA, Abrams, GD and Freter, R 1970. Efficiency of various intestinal bacteria in assuming normal functions of enteric flora after association with germ-free mice. Infection and Immunity 2, 376–386.Google Scholar
van Soest, PV, Robertson, J and Lewis, B 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583–3597.Google Scholar
Whelan, K, Judd, P and Taylor, M 2004. Assessment of fecal output in patients receiving enteral tube feeding: validation of a novel chart. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58, 1030–1037.Google Scholar
Yaakob, Z, Ali, E, Zainal, A, Mohamad, M and Takriff, MS 2014. An overview: biomolecules from microalgae for animal feed and aquaculture. Journal of Biological Research-Thessaloniki 21, 6.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Furbeyre et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Furbeyre et al. supplementary material(File)
File 14.1 KB