Effects of dietary supplementation of Acanthopanax senticosus extracts on weanling stress in piglets.

【Objective】 The study was conducted to test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation of Acanthopanax senticosus extracts (ASE) inhibits weanling stress in piglets. 【Method】 Ninety-six piglets weaned at 21 day of age were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups with 4 replicates for each by weight and sex to investigate the growth performance, serum biochemical parameters and hormone levels correlated to growth. Another 6 male piglets were selected to investigate the apparent digestibility of nutrients with 2× 3× 3 Latin square design. The piglets were fed basal diet suplemented with 0, ASE or antibiotics, respectively. 【Result】 ASE significantly increased the ADG, improved the gain-feed ratio in comparison with the basal diet group. Apparent digestibility of Ca, TE and P in the ASE group was higher than that of basal diet group. ASE increased the serum contents of LDL, CHO, GLU and the activity of ALP, decreased the content of SUN, and significantly increased the serum contents of FT3, FT4, GH, IGF-1 and FT3/FT4 in comparison with the basal group. 【Conclusion】 The findings showed that ASE as a dietary additive can modulate hormone levels, elevate the digestion and metabolism, thereby inhibit weanling stress and improve growth performance.