Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (1): 540-552.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2026.01.047

• CLINICAL VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Panax notoginseng Stem and Leaf Extract on Growth Performance, Diarrhea Index and Intestinal Health of LPS-Challenged Piglets

ZHAO Lin1,5(), WU Kunfu1, CHE Siyan1,5, LU Yu2,3(), WANG Zi4, WU Miaomiao1,5()   

  1. 1.Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for the Products Quality Regulation of Livestock and Poultry,College of Animal Science and Technology,Hunan Agricultural University,Changsha 410128,China
    2.Institute of Animal Immunology Engineering,Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Nanjing 210014,China
    3.Guotai Technology Innovation Center of Veterinary Biological Products (Taizhou),Taizhou 225300,China
    4.Center for Molecular Biology,School of Life Sciences,Central South University,Changsha 410083,China
    5.Yuelushan Laboratory,Changsha 410128,China
  • Received:2024-12-18 Online:2026-01-23 Published:2026-01-26
  • Contact: LU Yu, WU Miaomiao E-mail:1290213245@qq.com;luyu@jaas.ac.cn;miaomiaowu0316@hunau.edu.cn

Abstract:

This study aimed to explore the extraction method of saponins from the stems and leaves of Panax notoginseng (PN) and investigate its effects on the growth performance, diarrhea index and intestinal health of piglets challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Single-factor experiments were conducted and ultrasonic extraction method was used to optimize the extraction conditions of total saponins from Panax notoginseng stems and leaves, such as ultrasonic time, liquid-to-solid ratio, and ethanol volume fraction. The experiment selected 24 “Duroc × Landrace × Large White” piglets with an initial body weight of (7.13±0.74) kg. The piglets were randomly divided into a control group (basic diet), an LPS group (basic diet), a DEX (dexamethasone) + LPS group (basic diet) and a PN + LPS group (basic diet + 0.4% Panax notoginseng stem and leaf extract), with six piglets in each group. On the 28th day of the experiment, serum, colon tissue and colon chyme samples were collected from piglets to test serum biochemical and colon inflammation-related indicators, the composition of colon microbiota were analyzed and colon tissue morphology were observed. The results showed as follows: 1) The extraction yield of total saponins was the highest at solid-liquid ratio of 1∶25(g∶mL), ultrasonic time of 1.5 h and ethanol volume fraction of 60%. 2) Compared with the LPS group, the feed intake of piglets in PN treatment was significantly increased (P<0.05), and the diarrhea index was decreased (P=0.06). 3) Supplementation of PN can effectively improve the morphology of colon tissue induced by LPS and prevent mucosal injury; 4) PN pre-feeding reduced the abundance of Prevotella_9 in the colon of piglets challenged with LPS (P<0.05). 5) PN treatment could promote the expression of IL-4 at mRNA level (P<0.05) and reduce the expression of TNF-α at mRNA level (P<0.05). In summary, add 0.4% PN in dietary can improve the growth performance of piglets, alleviate the damage of intestinal morphology caused by LPS, regulate intestinal microorganisms and alleviate intestinal inflammation, thereby improving the diarrhea of piglets.

Key words: stem and leaf extract of Panax notoginseng, diarrhea in piglets, growth performance, intestinal morphology, microorganisms, inflammation

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