Sodium Butyrate Affects Growth Performance and Immune Function of Weaner Piglets

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of sodium butyrate on growth performance and immune function of weaner piglets.A total of 162 healthy 28-day-old mutilated weanling piglets with the body weight of(8.25±0.18) kg were randomly allocated into 6 groups with 3 replicates per group and 9 piglets in each replicate.Piglets in control group were fed a basal diet,and the others in experimental groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.01% chlortetracycline(group Ⅰ),0.10% sodium butyrate(group Ⅱ),0.10% sodium butyrate+0.01% chlortetracycline(group Ⅲ),0.30% zinc oxide+0.01% chlortetracycline(group Ⅳ),and 0.10% dietary sodium butyrate+0.01% chlortetracycline+0.3% zinc oxide(group Ⅴ),respectively.The experiment lasted for 21 days.The results showed as follows: 1) the final weight,average daily feed intake,average daily gain in groups Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ were significantly higher than those in the control group(P0.05).2) Except groupⅠ,the spleen index,pancreatic index,and lymph nodes index in the experimental groups were significantly higher than those in the control group(P0.05);the immunoglobulin G in the experimental groups was significantly higher than that in the control group(P0.05),the content of intestinal mucosal positive immunoglobulin A(IgA+) cells in the experimental group was increased to some extent,and one of the most obvious effects was observed in the group Ⅲ.3) Compared with the control group,diamine oxidase levels in groups Ⅲ and Ⅴ were reduced by 46.22% and 44.83%(P0.05),and the cortisol levels in groups Ⅲ,Ⅳ and Ⅴ were reduced by 43.13%,43.14% and 47.01%(P0.05),respectively.In conclusion,supplementation with sodium butyrate in the diet can improve the growth and development of immune organ and the serum immunoglobulin content of weaner piglets.It can also stimulate the secretion of immunoglobulin A in intestinal mucosa,and improve the immune function.Furthermore,the combination of sodium butyrate and antibiotics has a more obvious effect on the promotion of growth and reduction of diarrhea rate.