Abstract
Background
Oxidative stress significantly impacts growth performance and liver function in piglets. Ferulic acid (FA) works as an antioxidant, however, the role and mechanism of FA in the regulation of diquat-induced oxidative stress in piglets are less known. This study was designed to investigate the effects of FA on growth performance and antioxidant capacity in piglets with diquat challenge.
Methods
Thirty-two healthy DLY (Duroc× Landrace × Yorkshire) piglets (13.24 ± 0.19 kg) were randomly divided into one of two diets including 0 or 4 g/kg FA for 14 d. On day 15, all pigs were intraperitoneally injected diquat or sterile saline.
Results
Diquat infusion significantly reduced the average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of piglets. Dietary FA supplementation suppressed body weight loss in and reduced serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities in diquat challenged piglets. Furthermore, diquat infusion increased reactive oxygen radicals (ROS) level in liver, decreased the activities of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the liver and serum. Supplementation with FA significantly increased T-AOC and T-SOD activities and decreased MDA and ROS levels. FA down-regulated gene and protein expression of Keap1, and up-regulated protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 in the liver of piglets with diquat challenge. Importantly, diquat challenge increased the ratio of late apoptosis, increased serum levels of IL-1β, IL-18 and LDH, and up-regulated pyroptosis-related genes in the liver. FA supplementation reduced the ratio of late apoptosis and down-regulated mRNA expression of pyroptosis-related genes (NLRP3, Caspase1, GSDMD, IL-1β and IL-18). Accordingly, FA addition reduced concentration of IL-1β, IL-18, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) under diquat challenge.
Conclusions
Diquat-induced oxidative stress reduced growth performance and impaired liver function in piglets. Dietary FA supplementation enhanced the antioxidant capacity and reduced the degree of hepatocyte pyroptosis, thereby alleviating the oxidative damage in the liver and mitigating the impact of diquat on growth performance of piglets.