In the commercial swine farm setting, the post-weaning period is a critical window during which piglets are highly susceptible to infection and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)-associated diarrhea. Short chain fatty acids and their glycerides are compounds which may influence intestinal health; however, valerate is one that has not been well-characterized for its role as a dietary supplement. Therefore, the major objective of this experiment was to investigate two forms of valerate glycerides on diarrhea, intestinal physiology, and systemic immunity of weaned pigs experimentally infected with ETEC F18. Dietary treatments included a control diet and three additional diets supplemented with 0.075% monovalerin, 0.1% monovalerin, or 0.1% trivalerin, respectively. Piglets were weaned (21-24 d of age), individually housed, and experimental diets were fed throught the 28-day trial period. After a seven-day period, all piglets were inoculated on three consecutive days with 1010 CFU ETEC F18/3 mL. Growth performance was monitored throughout the trial and daily diarrhea scores were recorded. Rectal swabs were collected for bacterial culture to confirm the presence or absence of β-hemolytic coliforms throughout the trial. Serum samples were collected and analyzed for inflammatory biomarkers on d 0, 3, 6, and 21 post-inoculation (PI) and untargeted metabolomics on d 6 PI. Intestinal mucosa and tissue sections were harvested from pigs sacrificed on d 7 PI for gene expression and histology analysis. All data, except for frequency of diarrhea and metabolomics, were analyzed by ANOVA using the PROC MIXED of SAS. Dietary trivalerin reduced (P < 0.05) the frequency of severe diarrhea over the entire trial period and the frequency of β-hemolytic coliforms on d 7 PI compared with control. The intestinal villus height on d 7 PI in jejunum tissue was increased (P < 0.05) in pigs fed trivalerin. The mRNA expression of TNF-α was decreased (P < 0.05) in the trivalerin group, while that of ZO1 was increased (P < 0.05) compared with control. Throughout the trial, serum TNF-α was reduced in pigs fed trivalerin compared with control. Serum metabolites, adenosine, inosine, and shikimic acid were reduced (P < 0.05) on d 6 PI in all treatment groups compared with control. In conclusion, the present results indicate supplementing dietary valerate glycerides exhibited beneficial impacts on diarrhea, inflammation, and intestinal gene expression of piglets during the post-weaning period.

中文翻译：

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戊酸甘油酯可改善感染产肠毒素大肠杆菌 F18 的断奶仔猪的腹泻并影响肠道生理学和血清生物标志物


在商业养猪场环境中，断奶后是一个关键窗口，在此期间仔猪极易受到感染和产肠毒素大肠杆菌 （ETEC） 相关腹泻的影响。短链脂肪酸及其甘油酯是可能影响肠道健康的化合物;然而，Valerate 是一种尚未因其作为膳食补充剂的作用而得到充分表征的药物。因此，本实验的主要目的是研究两种形式的戊酸甘油酯对实验感染 ETEC F18 的断奶仔猪的腹泻、肠道生理和全身免疫的影响。饮食处理包括对照饮食和三种补充 0.075% 单戊林、0.1% 单戊林或 0.1% 三维拉林的额外饮食。仔猪断奶（21-24 d），单独饲养，并在 28 天的试验期内饲喂实验日粮。7 天后，所有仔猪连续 3 天接种 1010 CFU ETEC F18/3 mL。在整个试验过程中监测生长表现，并记录每日腹泻评分。收集直肠拭子进行细菌培养，以确认整个试验过程中是否存在β溶血大肠菌群。收集血清样本并在接种后第 0 天、第 3 天、第 6 天和第 21 天 （PI） 分析炎症生物标志物，并在第 6 天 PI 分析非靶向代谢组学。从第 7 天 PI 处死的猪中收获肠粘膜和组织切片，用于基因表达和组织学分析。除腹泻频率和代谢组学外，所有数据均使用 SAS 的 PROC MIXED 通过 ANOVA 分析。与对照组相比，膳食 trivalerin 降低了 （P < 0.05） 整个试验期间严重腹泻的频率和第 7 天 PI 上β溶血性大肠菌群的频率。 饲喂 trivalerin 的猪空肠组织第 7 天 PI 的肠绒毛高度增加 （P < 0.05）。与对照组相比，trivalerin 组 TNF-α mRNA 表达降低 （P < 0.05），而 ZO1 mRNA 表达增加 （P < 0.05）。在整个试验过程中，与对照组相比，饲喂 trivalerin 的猪的血清 TNF-α 降低。与对照组相比，所有治疗组第 6 天 PI 血清代谢物、腺苷、肌苷和莽草酸均降低 （P < 0.05）。总之，目前的结果表明，补充日粮戊酸甘油酯对断奶后仔猪的腹泻、炎症和肠道基因表达表现出有益影响。