Dietary spray-dried chicken plasma improves intestinal barrier function and modulates immune status in weaning piglets

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary addition of spray-dried chicken plasma (SDCP) as a replacement for spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) on serum biochemistry, intestinal barrier function, immune parameters, and the expression of intestinal development-related genes in weaning pigs. One hundred and forty-four 25-d-old weaning piglets with BW of 6.43 +/- 0.39 kg were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments: 1) CON (basal diet; control), 2) SDPP (containing 5% SDPP), 3) SDPP + SDCP (containing 2.5% SDPP and 2.5% SDCP), and 4) SDCP (containing 5% SDCP). After a 28-d trial, 6 pigs from each treatment were randomly selected to collect serum and intestinal samples. On d 14 after the initiation of the trial, pigs in the SDPP, SDPP + SDCP, and SDCP groups had an increase (P < 0.05) in serum concentrations of total protein and IgG and a decrease (P < 0.05) in activities of alanine aminotransferase and diamine oxidase compared with the CON group. In the jejunum, supplementation with SDPP and SDCP reduced (P < 0.05) the concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and upregulated (P < 0.05) the mRNA levels of zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1), zonula occludens 2 (ZO-2), occludin (OCLN), Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP2), and IGF-1 compared with the CON group. In the ileum, feeding SDPP, SDPP + SDCP, and SDCP decreased (P < 0.05) the concentrations of TNF-alpha and secretory IgA (sIgA) and upregulated (P < 0.05) the mRNA levels of claudin 1 (CLDN-1) and TLR2 compared with feeding CON. However, there were no differences among the SDPP, SDPP + SDCP, and SDCP groups. Furthermore, supplementation with SDCP reduced (P < 0.05) the concentration of IL-10 and upregulated (P < 0.05) the mRNA levels of GLP-2, mucin 2 (MUC2), and trefoil factor family 3 (TFF3) in the ileum compared with feeding CON. Collectively, the current results indicate that dietary addition of SDCP has a beneficial influence on the health condition of weaning pigs by alleviating liver damage, promoting intestinal development, improving intestinal barrier function, and reducing overstimulation of immune response. The efficacy of SDCP is comparable to that of SDPP.