Tributyrin supplementation and colitis in young pigs

Non-specific colitis, or grower scours, is a condition in swine causing intestinal inflammation, diarrhea, and growth performance issues. Due to these outcomes, colitis has detrimental economic effects on the pork industry by decreasing the value of the swine and increasing production costs. Organic preventions and treatments are in high demand, but further research is needed to determine their efficacy. As a result, an experiment was conducted to determine the effects of gamma-cyclodextrin encapsulated tributyrin (TBCD), a butyrate conjugate, on pre-wean pigs experiencing dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Pigs were weaned from the sow at postnatal day (PND) 2, allotted to a treatment based on litter of origin and body weight, and reared artificially over a 26-d period. Treatments included: 1) Control+NoDSS (nutritionally adequate milk replacer, no DSS), 2) Control+DSS (control diet, plus orally supplemented with 1.25 g/kg BW/d DSS to induce colitis), 3) TBCD+DSS (DSS induction plus diet supplemented with 8.3 g of TBCD per kg of reconstituted milk replacer). Oral administration of DSS occurred from PND 14 to 18. Pig body weight and feed disappearance was measured daily to determine growth performance outcomes. At either PND 27 or 28, pigs were euthanized and serum cytokines (measured as tumor necrosis factor-alpha; TNF-α), intestinal morphology, and volatile fatty acids of luminal contents were evaluated on all pigs. The pigs receiving TBCD+DSS had reduced (P < 0.05) body weight compared with the Control+NoDSS and Control+DSS pigs starting at PND 15 and 17, respectively, and remaining through study completion. Additionally, average daily gain before and after DSS dosing and overall was decreased (P < 0.05) in pigs receiving TBCD+DSS compared with the Control+NoDSS and Control+DSS. Meanwhile, milk disappearance was decreased (P < 0.05) in the TBCD+DSS pigs compared with the Control+NoDSS and Control+DSS groups. However, feed efficiency did not differ across treatments. Further, there was no difference between treatments in serum TNF-α quantified on PND 27 or 28, 10 days post DSS dosing. Regarding tissue effects, oral dosing with DSS increased (P < 0.05) mucosal thickness, or the distance from the lumen to the submucosa, in the distal colon compared with the Control+NoDSS group. Additionally, there were a variety of changes observed in volatile fatty acids, specifically an increase (P < 0.05) in butyrate concentrations in the cecum and proximal colon in TBCD+DSS pigs compared with the Control+NoDSS. Lastly, in all treatments receiving DSS, there was an increase (P < 0.05) in branched-chain fatty acids in the proximal colon. The findings of this research imply that dietary supplementation with TBCD increased butyrate concentrations in colonic contents, though dietary TBCD was unable to mitigate the effects of DSS-induced colitis in young pigs.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Animal Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Sommer, Kaitlyn M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dilger, Ryan N
• Donovan, Sharon M
• Swanson, Kelly S

• Tributyrin
• DSS
• Colitis
• Pre-wean
• Pig

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Kaitlyn Sommer

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116144

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116144