Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (8): 3908-3921.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.08.029

• Animal Nutrition and Feeds • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Glucosamine on Serum Anti-oxidation, Inflammatory Indexes and Intestinal Microbes in Weaned Piglets

MENG Yaxuan1,2,3(), LIU Yan2,3, WANG Jing2,3, CHEN Guoshun1,*(), FENG Tao1,2,3,*()   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
    2. Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (IAHVM), Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (BAAFS), Beijing 100097, China
    3. Joint Laboratory of Animal Science between IAHVM of BAAFS and Division of Agricultural Science and Natural Resource of Oklahoma State University, Beijing 100097, China
  • Received:2024-09-19 Online:2025-08-23 Published:2025-08-28
  • Contact: CHEN Guoshun, FENG Tao E-mail:18793606358@163.com;chengs@gsau.edu.cn;fengtao@baafs.net.cn

Abstract:

The study aimed to investigate the effects of glucosamine (GlcN) on serum antioxidant and inflammatory indexes and intestinal microbiota in weaned piglets. A total of 250 healthy 21-day-old weaned "Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire" piglets, with similar body weights, were randomly allocated into five treatment groups. Each group consisted of five replicates with ten piglets per replicate. The trial duration was 14 days. The piglets were fed with the following diets: basal diet (NC group), basal diet + 75 mg·kg-1 chlortetracycline (PC group), basal diet + 1 g·kg-1 g GlcN (G1 group), basal diet + 2 g·kg-1 GlcN (G2 group), and basal diet + 3 g·kg-1 GlcN (G3 group). At the end of the 14-day trial, two replicates were randomly selected from each group to collect serum and fecal samples. These samples were then subjected to assessments of serum oxidative stress and inflammation-related biomarkers, analysis of fecal microbiota composition, and correlation analysis between serum indicators and microbial composition. The results indicated that: 1) GlcN supplementation can change serum oxidative stress-related index MDA (malondialdehyde), T-AOC (total antioxidant capacity), CAT (catalase), T-SOD (total superoxide dismutase) and index of immune function IL-10 (interleukin-10) and IL-1β (interleukin-1beta). 2) GlcN supplementation can influence intestinal microbial flora. At the phylum level, the top three most abundant bacterial phyla were Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, and Spirochaetota. At the genus level, compared to the NC group, the abundance of Ruminococcaceae UCG-002 was significantly reduced and showed a significant negative correlation with T-SOD (P < 0.05) in the G2 group, the abundance of norank_f_Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group was reduced in the G3 group (P < 0.05). The abundance of norank_f_Ruminococcaceae increased in the G1 group (P < 0.05). Specifically, Lachnospiraceae Dorea in the G2 group showed a significant positive correlation with T-SOD, whereas in the G3 group, it exhibited a significant negative correlation with IL-6 (P < 0.05). Additionally, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group was negatively correlated with TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) in the G2 group (P < 0.05), while it displayed a significant positive correlation with T-SOD in the G3 group (P < 0.05). After GlcN supplementation, three genera including UCG-002, Dorea and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group in piglet intestine were closely related to both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory indexes. In summary, GlcN can enhance the antioxidant capacity and immune function, and regulate intestinal microbiota together to alleviate weaning stress in piglets.

Key words: glucosamine, weaned piglets, intestinal flora, microorganisms, feeding experiment

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