Dietary monoglyceride supplementation to support intestinal integrity and host defenses in health-challenged weanling pigs

Frequent incidence of post-weaning enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) diarrhea in the swine industry contributes to high mortality rates and associated economic losses. In this study, a combination of butyric, caprylic, and capric fatty acid monoglycerides was investigated to promote intestinal integrity and host defenses in weanling pigs infected with ETEC. A total of 160 pigs were allotted to treatment groups based on weight and sex. Throughout the 17-d study, three treatment groups were maintained: sham-inoculated pigs fed a control diet [uninfected control (UC), n = 40], ETEC-inoculated pigs fed the same control diet [infected control (IC), n = 60], and ETEC-inoculated pigs fed the control diet supplemented with monoglycerides included at 0.3% of the diet [infected supplemented (MG), n = 60]. Following a 7-d acclimation period, pigs were orally inoculated on each of 3 consecutive days with either 3 mL of a sham-control (saline) or live ETEC culture (3 × 109 CFU/mL). The first day of inoculation was designated as 0 d post-inoculation (DPI), and all study outcomes reference this time-point. Fecal, tissue, and blood samples were collected from 48 individual pigs (UC, n = 12; IC, n = 18; MG, n = 18) on 5 and 10 DPI for analysis of dry matter (DM), bacterial enumeration, inflammatory markers, and intestinal permeability. ETEC-inoculated pigs in both the IC and MG groups displayed clear signs of infection including lower (P < 0.05) fecal DM and higher (P < 0.05) rectal temperatures, total bacteria, total E. coli, and total F18 ETEC during the peak infection period (5 DPI). Gene expression of the tight junction protein occludin was also decreased (P < 0.05) in both ETEC-inoculated groups at the 5 DPI time-point, indicative of increased intestinal permeability. The MG group had the numerically lowest expression of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 on DPI 5, but the lack of a change in other inflammatory markers makes it difficult to attribute this to potential treatment benefits. By 9 DPI, the UC and MG groups had numerically lower L:M ratios in plasma compared with the IC group, which may indicate quicker resolution of the previous damage to barrier function in the MG vs. IC group. Overall, the significant effects observed in this study were attributed to infection status and not monoglyceride supplementation.

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

2023

Author dc:creator

• White, Cameron Stephanik

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dilger, Ryan N
• Donovan, Sharon M
• Stein, Hans H

• Monoglycerides
• Etec
• Nutrition
• Swine

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Cameron White

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121967

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F121967