Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs
Phytosterols (PSs) are widely present in plants, particularly abundant in plant oils and seeds. PSs are reported to have various biological activities, such as lowering cholesterol, alongside antioxidant and antibacterial activities. This research examined the effects of PSs in finishing pigs, inclu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/9/1188 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850278645444116480 |
|---|---|
| author | Renjie Xie Zhenxing Guo Haiqing Gan Dexing Hou Guang Chen Chao Deng Hongkun Li Jiajie Ouyang Qiyu Tian Xingguo Huang |
| author_facet | Renjie Xie Zhenxing Guo Haiqing Gan Dexing Hou Guang Chen Chao Deng Hongkun Li Jiajie Ouyang Qiyu Tian Xingguo Huang |
| author_sort | Renjie Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Phytosterols (PSs) are widely present in plants, particularly abundant in plant oils and seeds. PSs are reported to have various biological activities, such as lowering cholesterol, alongside antioxidant and antibacterial activities. This research examined the effects of PSs in finishing pigs, including growth performance, serum biochemistry, and fecal bacteria. Two treatment groups (each treatment group consisted of five biological replicates, and each replicate comprised five pigs housed communally) were randomly assigned to the fifty finishing pigs (equally divided by sex) of “Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire” three-way cross with 79.76 ± 1.29 (kg) body weight. The control group (CON) was given basic food, while the experimental group was given basic food containing 300 mg PS/kg (PS). Dietary PS supplementation markedly raised the levels of average daily feed intake (ADFI) and apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and gross energy (GE) in comparison to the CON (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Additionally, PSs also significantly boosted the concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total protein (TP), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), immunoglobulin G (IgG), motilin (MTL), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and lowered the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Both at the phyla and genus levels, the relative abundance of Firmicutes and <i>Streptococcus</i> increased significantly, and the relative abundance of <i>Acinetobacter</i> decreased significantly when adding phytosterols (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Overall, phytosterols dietary supplementation promotes immunity and antioxidant capacity in finishing pigs and boosts growth performance by improving nutrient digestibility. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a08e2a4c3bc5475fa6e35b6cc91d2f06 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-a08e2a4c3bc5475fa6e35b6cc91d2f062025-08-20T01:49:24ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-04-01159118810.3390/ani15091188Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing PigsRenjie Xie0Zhenxing Guo1Haiqing Gan2Dexing Hou3Guang Chen4Chao Deng5Hongkun Li6Jiajie Ouyang7Qiyu Tian8Xingguo Huang9College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaGraduate School of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-0065, JapanCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaHunan Biological and Electromechanical Polytechnic, Changsha 210127, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, ChinaPhytosterols (PSs) are widely present in plants, particularly abundant in plant oils and seeds. PSs are reported to have various biological activities, such as lowering cholesterol, alongside antioxidant and antibacterial activities. This research examined the effects of PSs in finishing pigs, including growth performance, serum biochemistry, and fecal bacteria. Two treatment groups (each treatment group consisted of five biological replicates, and each replicate comprised five pigs housed communally) were randomly assigned to the fifty finishing pigs (equally divided by sex) of “Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire” three-way cross with 79.76 ± 1.29 (kg) body weight. The control group (CON) was given basic food, while the experimental group was given basic food containing 300 mg PS/kg (PS). Dietary PS supplementation markedly raised the levels of average daily feed intake (ADFI) and apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and gross energy (GE) in comparison to the CON (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Additionally, PSs also significantly boosted the concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total protein (TP), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), immunoglobulin G (IgG), motilin (MTL), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and lowered the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Both at the phyla and genus levels, the relative abundance of Firmicutes and <i>Streptococcus</i> increased significantly, and the relative abundance of <i>Acinetobacter</i> decreased significantly when adding phytosterols (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Overall, phytosterols dietary supplementation promotes immunity and antioxidant capacity in finishing pigs and boosts growth performance by improving nutrient digestibility.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/9/1188phytosterolsfattening pigsapparent digestibilityserum parametersantioxidant capacityfecal flora |
| spellingShingle | Renjie Xie Zhenxing Guo Haiqing Gan Dexing Hou Guang Chen Chao Deng Hongkun Li Jiajie Ouyang Qiyu Tian Xingguo Huang Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs Animals phytosterols fattening pigs apparent digestibility serum parameters antioxidant capacity fecal flora |
| title | Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs |
| title_full | Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs |
| title_short | Effects of Phytosterols on Growth Performance, Serum Indexes, and Fecal Microbiota in Finishing Pigs |
| title_sort | effects of phytosterols on growth performance serum indexes and fecal microbiota in finishing pigs |
| topic | phytosterols fattening pigs apparent digestibility serum parameters antioxidant capacity fecal flora |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/9/1188 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT renjiexie effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT zhenxingguo effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT haiqinggan effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT dexinghou effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT guangchen effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT chaodeng effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT hongkunli effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT jiajieouyang effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT qiyutian effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs AT xingguohuang effectsofphytosterolsongrowthperformanceserumindexesandfecalmicrobiotainfinishingpigs |