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. 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 d 15, all pigs were intraperitoneally injected diquat or sterile saline. Dietary supplementation with ferulic acid (FA) significantly improved the average daily gain (ADG) and decreased feed-gain ratio (F/G) of piglets. Here, dietary FA supplementation 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 lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and up-regulated pyroptosis-related genes in the liver. FA supplementation reduced the ratio of late apoptosis and down-regulated mRNA expression of Caspase-1. Accordingly, FA addition reduced concentration of IL-1β, IL-18, and LDH under diquat challenge. 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.

中文翻译：

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日粮中添加阿魏酸可增强敌草快攻毒仔猪的抗氧化能力并缓解肝细胞焦亡


氧化应激会显著影响仔猪的生长性能和肝功能。阿魏酸 （FA） 是一种抗氧化剂，然而，FA 在调节敌草快诱导的仔猪氧化应激中的作用和机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨 FA 对敌草快攻击仔猪生长性能和抗氧化能力的影响。将 32 头健康 DLY （Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire） 仔猪 （13.24 ± 0.19 kg） 随机分为 0 或 4 g/kg FA 两种日粮中的一种，持续 14 d。第 15 天，所有猪腹腔注射敌草快或无菌盐水。日粮中添加阿魏酸 （FA） 显著提高了仔猪的平均日增重 （ADG） 并降低了采肥比 （F/G）。在这里，日粮 FA 补充剂降低了敌草快攻毒仔猪的血清天冬氨酸氨基转移酶 （AST） 和丙氨酸氨基转移酶 （ALT） 活性。此外，敌草快输注增加了肝脏中的活性氧自由基 （ROS） 水平，降低了肝脏和血清中总超氧化物歧化酶 （T-SOD） 和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶 （GSH-Px） 的活性，降低了总抗氧化能力 （T-AOC） 并增加了丙二醛 （MDA） 含量。补充 FA 显着增加了 T-AOC 和 T-SOD 活性，并降低了 MDA 和 ROS 水平。FA 下调敌草快攻击仔猪肝脏中 Keap1 的基因和蛋白表达，上调 Nrf2 和 HO-1 的蛋白表达。重要的是，敌草快攻击增加了晚期细胞凋亡的比率，增加了血清 IL-1β 、 IL-18 和乳酸脱氢酶 （LDH） 的水平，并上调了肝脏中焦亡相关基因。添加 FA 可降低晚期细胞凋亡的比率和 Caspase-1 的 mRNA 表达下调。 因此，在敌草快攻击下，FA 添加降低了 IL-1β 、 IL-18 和 LDH 的浓度。敌草快诱导的氧化应激降低了仔猪的生长性能并损害了肝功能。日粮中添加 FA 增强了抗氧化能力，降低了肝细胞焦亡的程度，从而减轻了肝脏的氧化损伤，减轻了敌草快对仔猪生长性能的影响。