Animal Nutrition最新文献

{"title":"Porcine intestinal goblet cells: Guardians of mucosal immunity and barrier function","authors":"Chenbin Cui, Jiaxi Tang, Jing Hou, Jianjian Zhang, Min Tian, Kaiguo Gao, Li Wang, Zongyong Jiang, Xuefen Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"Goblet cells are a type of secretory cell in the intestinal epithelium, characterized by their continuous production and secretion of mucin. Goblet cell-associated antigen passage (GAP)-mediated antigen presentation offers intestinal tolerance to innocuous luminal antigens and systemic resistance to infection. However, multiple factors can impair goblet cell abundance influencing mucin production in swine. Therefore, strategies aimed at maintaining porcine goblet cell homeostasis could provide an important role in the protection of gut health, ultimately enhancing porcine health and production performance. This review summarizes the current knowledge on porcine goblet cells, including methods of examination, their development and functions, and demonstrations of the presence of GAPs in the porcine small intestine. This review also lists the factors and nutrients that influence goblet cell homeostasis in swine production and discusses the potential roles of porcine goblet cells in nutrient digestion and absorption. Overall, this review highlights the importance of preserving the goblet cell-mediated portion of intestinal homeostasis and advances the understanding of porcine goblet cells, providing opportunities for the development of new methods to improve gut health in swine production.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dietary supplementation of phytosterols improves meat quality by increasing intramuscular fat, improving fatty acid composition and enhancing antioxidant capacity in Hu lambs","authors":"Guangyuan Tian, Xuanzi Zhang, Xiujie Gao, Xiaoyan Hao, Jianxin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.03.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"Phytosterols (PS) play an important role in regulating lipid metabolism. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PS on intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition, fatty acid composition, meat quality, and antioxidant capacity in Hu lambs. Forty-eight 4-month-old male Hu lambs with similar body weight (23.90 ± 0.83 kg) were randomly divided into four groups (<ce:italic>n</ce:italic> = 12 per group): basal diets supplemented with 0 (Control), 500 (500PS), 1000 (1000PS), or 1500 mg PS/kg diet (1500PS) on a dry matter basis. After a 75-d feeding trial, feces, ruminal fluid, longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle and serum samples were collected for subsequent analysis. The results showed that all PS-supplemented groups had a significantly higher average daily gain than the Control group during the 26–50-day period (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.002). The digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was significantly affected by PS supplementation (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05). Compared with the Control group, ruminal pH significantly decreased, while total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and propionate concentrations significantly increased in the 500PS group, which also had a significantly lower acetate-to-propionate ratio (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05). Meat quality was improved with PS supplementation. Specifically, pH<ce:inf loc=\"post\">24 h</ce:inf> significantly increased in 500PS group, yellowness significantly decreased in 500PS group, cooking loss and water loss significantly reduced in 500PS or 1500PS groups compared with Control group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05); shear force decreased linearly and quadratically with increasing PS supplementation (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05). Additionally, compared with Control group, IMF and CP contents significantly increased only in 500PS group in LD muscle (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05). The GR value, an indicator of carcass fatness, exhibited a quadratic decreasing trend with increasing PS supplementation (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.027). The activities of fatty acid synthase (FAS) in all PS-supplemented groups and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in 500PS group in LD muscle significantly increased compared with Control group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05). The mRNA relative expression levels of <ce:italic>FABP4</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>FAS</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>PPARγ</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>ACC</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>SREBP-1,</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>C/EBPα</ce:italic> significantly upregulated in LD muscle with PS supplementation (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05). Compared with Control group, C11:0 and C18:0 contents in all PS-supplemented groups in LD muscle significantly decreased (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> < 0.05), while the 500PS group significantly increased beneficial fatty acid contents including C18:1, C18:2, C18:3n3, C22:6n3, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148288402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The anti-diarrheal role of iron in piglets: Regulation of colonic goblet cell function","authors":"Shuan Liu, Chengyan Gong, Ziyue Bai, Lingzhi Zhu, Lan Li, Dan Wan, Yulong Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.019","url":null,"abstract":"Diarrhea is a common condition in piglets. The intestinal mucosal barrier is the primary protective mechanism against external challenges. Iron—an essential trace element for the growth and metabolism of living organisms—is crucial for enhancing host defense functions. Newborn piglets and porcine colonic organoids were employed as experimental models to investigate the mechanisms underlying the regulation of the intestinal mucosal barrier by iron supplementation. A total of 24 seven-d-old piglets (body weight 1.75 ± 0.20 kg) were orally administered formula milk powder supplemented with different concentrations of iron (FeSO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf>) for 2 weeks. The treatment groups were low (without), middle (70 mg/kg), and high (700 mg/kg) iron (<ce:italic>n</ce:italic> = 8). Compared with the low group, iron supplementation significantly reduced fecal scores (P = 0.016), increased the number of colonic goblet cells (P = 0.009), and enhanced MUC2 production (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.049). Additionally, fecal scores were negatively correlated with both the number of colonic goblet cells (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.003, |<ce:italic>r</ce:italic>| = 0.772) and MUC2 production (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.026, |<ce:italic>r</ce:italic>| = 0.636). To investigate the mechanism by which iron regulates goblet cells, a hypothesis was proposed that iron exerts its effects through both the gut microbiota and the host. Specific microbial taxa and metabolites were identified as potential regulators of goblet cell function. However, organoid-based in vitro experiments demonstrated that iron regulates goblet cells regardless of microbial metabolites. Additionally, porcine colonic organoids were treated with deferoxamine (DFO; 100 μmol/L), ammonium iron citrate (FAC; 100 μmol/L or 200 μmol/L), or a mock treatment for 48 h, which was followed by gene expression profiling and transcriptome sequencing. Elevated iron concentrations increased <ce:italic>MUC2</ce:italic> expression (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.001). In the group with increased <ce:italic>MUC2</ce:italic> expression, the MAPK and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways were downregulated (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.001), whereas the mucin-type O-glycan biosynthesis pathway was upregulated (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.002). Subsequent treatment of porcine colonic organoids with inhibitors specific to these pathways validated the crucial role of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in the iron-regulated goblet cell function. Therefore, dietary iron intake increased colonic goblet cell MUC2 production by inhibiting the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, thereby alleviating diarrhea in piglets.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148290338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bile acid supplementation in a high-fat diet improved growth performance, lipid deposition, ferroptosis, and intestinal health in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)","authors":"Kangyuan Qu, Tengfei Zhao, Yufei Chen, Yunzhen Li, Beiping Tan, Shiwei Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.09.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.09.020","url":null,"abstract":"Emerging evidence highlights bile acid (BA) as a key regulator of lipid homeostasis in shrimp, enhancing growth performance in aquaculture. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary BA supplementation in high-fat diets on growth performance, lipid deposition, intestinal health, and ferroptosis in <ce:italic>Litopenaeus vannamei</ce:italic>. An 8-week feeding trial was conducted using, eight different diets formulated with two lipid levels (7% and 11%) and four BA supplementation levels (0, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg). The diets were named as LFD, LF200, LF400, LF800, HFD, HF200, HF400, and HF800, respectively. A total of 1280 shrimp (0.52 ± 0.01 g) were divided into eight groups with four replicates, stocking 40 shrimp in each replicate tank. Shrimp fed high-fat diets exhibited comparable final body weight (FBW) and weight gain rate (WGR) compared to those fed low-fat diets. However, shrimp receiving 400 mg/kg BA-supplemented diets demonstrated a significant increase in FBW and WGR compared to the high-fat control group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Compared to low-fat diets, high-fat diets significantly elevated whole-body lipid content in shrimp and increased hepatopancreatic levels of total cholesterol (T-CHO), triglycerides (TG), and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Additionally, feeding high-fat diets upregulated genes associated with lipid metabolism, such as <ce:italic>ampk</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>fabp</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>srebp</ce:italic>, in both hepatopancreas and intestines (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). However, the addition of BA was effective in reducing the above indicators (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that high-fat diets led to mitochondrial abnormalities in the intestine, including the disappearance of mitochondrial cristae. Immunostaining of the intestine confirmed that high-fat diet markedly reduce the protein expression of GPX4, and the addition of BA significantly up-regulated ferroptosis-related genes—<ce:italic>gpx4</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>fettrin</ce:italic>, enhanced GPX4 protein expression, downregulated the gene expression of <ce:italic>acsl4</ce:italic>, and reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the addition of BA to high-fat diets restructured the intestinal microbiota, improved intestinal histological structure, and increased the diversity indices of the intestinal microbiota. It also elevated the levels of <ce:italic>Tenacibaculum</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>Motilimona</ce:italic>s, <ce:italic>Ruegeria</ce:italic>, and significantly reduced the relative abundance of <ce:italic>Kurthia</ce:italic> (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). These findings indicated that dietary BA supplementation may enhance growth performance, lipid metabolism, ferroptosis, and intestinal health of shrimp while mitigating the negative effects of a high-fat diet.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"20 1","pages":"334-353"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148290362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Organic manganese as a functional micronutrient: Promoting metabolic health and sustainable growth in Litopenaeus vannamei","authors":"Hongyu Peng, Shuqin Li, Min Jin, Lu Zhang, Jinlin Wang, Yu He, Xiaoru Chen, Yinzhao Zhang, Feng Tang, Peng Sun, Qicun Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.015","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluated the effects of five manganese (Mn) sources on Pacific white shrimp (<ce:italic>Litopenaeus vannamei</ce:italic>). Five Mn sources include Mn sulfate (MnSO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">4</ce:inf>·H<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O), Mn dioxide (MnO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>), Mn dioxide nanoparticles (MnO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>NPs), Mn glycine chelate (Mn-Gly), and Mn chelate of hydroxy analogue of methionine (Mn-MHA). During a 56-d feeding trial, 450 shrimp (1.03 ± 0.02 g) were randomly distributed among five dietary treatments, with each having three replicates. Growth performance and feed utilisation were not observed to be significantly affected by Mn sources (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &gt; 0.05). However, organic Mn sources (Mn−Gly and Mn−MHA) significantly enhanced Mn deposition (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.002) and upregulated a key Mn transporter (<ce:italic>zip14</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>tmem165</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>fpn1</ce:italic>) in the hepatopancreas when compared with inorganic MnO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> source (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Moreover, dietary organic Mn-MHA significantly enhanced systemic antioxidant capacity (T-AOC and GSH-Px) and innate immune response, as evidenced by increased activities of relevant enzymes (AKP, ACP, and NOS) and upregulation of associated genes (<ce:italic>gpx</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>cat</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>sod</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>nos</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>akp</ce:italic>) when compared with MnO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, the organic Mn sources significantly downregulated genes related to endoplasmic reticulum stress (<ce:italic>perk</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>atf4</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>atf6</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>eif2α</ce:italic>), inflammation (<ce:italic>spz-5</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>il-16</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>rab6a</ce:italic>), and apoptosis (<ce:italic>caspase8</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>p53</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>caspase3</ce:italic>), while significantly upregulating the anti-apoptotic gene (<ce:italic>bl-1</ce:italic>) when compared with MnO<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Notably, Mn−MHA supplementation significantly reduced hepatopancreatic lipid content (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.002) by modulating the expression of genes involved in lipid synthesis (<ce:italic>fas</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>acc</ce:italic>) and lipolysis (<ce:italic>aco</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>cpt</ce:italic>) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). In summary, although growth remained unaffected, organic Mn sources, particularly Mn−Gly and Mn−MHA, demonstrated superior bioavailability by enhancing antioxidant status, immune function, and hepatopancreas health as well as by regulating lipid metabolism.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"148 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147736618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The dynamics of body composition in yellow-feathered broilers","authors":"Sai Zhang, Long Li, Jinling Ye, Qiuli Fan, Zhongyong Gou, Zongyong Jiang, Shouqun Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2026.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"The objectives of this study were to: 1) fit the growth curve of body weight, components, and composition according to the Gompertz model; 2) predict body energy from body protein and fat based on multiple linear regression; and 3) identify the best predictors of body protein or fat based on an allometric growth model. A total of 840 one-d-old Qingyuan Partridge chickens were assigned to two gender groups, with six replicates of 70 chicks each. The birds were weighed every 10 d over a 120- d period. The body components (breast or thigh muscle and abdominal fat) were measured by dissection, and body composition (water, protein, fat, and ash content) was measured by whole carcass homogenization. The Gompertz model was used to fit the growth curve, and the derivative function was further applied to assess the daily growth rate. Multiple linear regression was used to calculate the body protein and fat energy content. Allometric functions were fitted to compare the growth rate of body components and composition to body weight. In male broiler, the Gompertz equation for body protein mass was <ce:math altimg=\"si1.svg\"></ce:math>; and the equation for body fat mass was <ce:math altimg=\"si2.svg\"></ce:math>. In female broiler, the equation for body protein mass was <ce:math altimg=\"si3.svg\"></ce:math>; and the equation for body fat mass was <ce:math altimg=\"si4.svg\"></ce:math>. The growth of male breast muscle and female thigh muscle were the most proportional to body protein deposition, as exponent was close to 1. In conclusion, the Gompertz model efficiently depicted body weight, components, and composition change. The Gompertz equation for body protein and fat can be applied to further model daily nutrient and energy requirements.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147682068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zinc oxide quantum dots as an alternative to conventional ZnO: Physicochemical characterization and its application in weaned piglets","authors":"Chan Liang, Xintao Wang, Daiwen Chen, Gang Tian, Jun He, Ping Zheng, Jie Yu, Junning Pu, Wendan Zhou, Bing Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.014","url":null,"abstract":"High-dose zinc oxide (ZnO) is effective in preventing diarrhea in piglets, but its use is limited by several concerns, including impaired intestinal barrier function, increased bacterial resistance, and the risks of heavy metal residues and environmental pollution. This study aimed to investigate whether zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO QDs), a novel nanomaterial with diameters of less than 10 nm, could serve as an alternative to ZnO. In vitro, ZnO QDs were used to characterize the structure and evaluate antibacterial activity. In vivo, a total of 150 piglets (24 ± 1 d, 7.45 ± 0.41 kg) were randomly divided into five groups: negative control group (CON), positive control group (ZnO; 1500 mg/kg Zn as ZnO), and 3 levels of ZnO QDs groups (250, 500 or 750 mg/kg Zn as ZnO QDs). Each group consisted of 10 replicates of 3 piglets for a 28-d trial. Results showed that ZnO QDs (size = 3.82 ± 0.38 nm, specific surface area = 17.65 m&lt;ce:sup loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:sup&gt;/g) exhibited superior antibacterial activity in vitro due to their small size, large surface area, and high zinc release when compared to ZnO (size = 239.48 ± 78.02 nm, specific surface area = 0.91 m&lt;ce:sup loc=\"post\"&gt;2&lt;/ce:sup&gt;/g). In vivo, the ZnO, ZnO QDs 250 and ZnO QDs 500 groups improved average daily gain (ADG; &lt;ce:italic&gt;P =&lt;/ce:italic&gt; 0.003), while only the ZnO QDs 500 group decreased the feed to gain ratio (F/G; &lt;ce:italic&gt;P =&lt;/ce:italic&gt; 0.038) compared with the CON group. Supplementation with ZnO QDs at 250–750 mg/kg also reduced diarrhea incidence in piglets (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05), with effects comparable to those observed with 1500 mg/kg ZnO. Dietary ZnO QDs supplementation mitigated zinc emissions and prevented hepatic zinc accumulation compared with high-dose ZnO (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.001). Moreover, both ZnO QDs and ZnO improved the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, and ether extract, enhanced digestive enzyme activities, and upregulated &lt;ce:italic&gt;SGLT1&lt;/ce:italic&gt; mRNA expression in the jejunal mucosa (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). In addition, supplementation of 250 and 500 mg/kg ZnO QDs promoted jejunal development, and 500 mg/kg ZnO QDs increased microbial α-diversity indices and enriched beneficial bacteria such as &lt;ce:italic&gt;norank_f_Muribaculaceae&lt;/ce:italic&gt; in the colon (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05). Conversely, high-dose ZnO hindered intestinal development and decreased &lt;ce:italic&gt;Lactobacillus&lt;/ce:italic&gt; abundance and increased &lt;ce:italic&gt;Escherichia-Shigella&lt;/ce:italic&gt; and &lt;ce:italic&gt;Treponema&lt;/ce:italic&gt; abundances (&lt;ce:italic&gt;P&lt;/ce:italic&gt; &lt; 0.05), all of which are detrimental to the intestinal health of piglets. In conclusion, dietary ZnO QDs at 250 and 500 mg/kg effectively promoted growth, prevented diarrhea, reduced zinc emissions, improved nutrient utilization, and regulated gut microbiota, suggesting their suitability as an alternative to high-dose ZnO. This study provides a novel appro","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147681670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of dietary ergosterol supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health in weaned pigs","authors":"Weidong Cai, Kunhong Xie, Yan Li, Bing Yu, Yuheng Luo, Ping Zheng, Xiangbing Mao, Jie Yu, Junqiu Luo, Hui Yan, Jun He","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.013","url":null,"abstract":"Ergosterol (ERG), a bioactive fungal sterol, possesses potent antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties, but its potential benefits on the intestinal health of weaned pigs remain largely unknown. To explore the effects of ERG on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health, 180 weaned pigs (21-d old, initial body weight 7.26 ± 0.26 kg) were randomly divided into 5 treatments with 6 replicate pens per treatment (6 pigs per pen) and fed with a basal diet (CON) or basal diet supplemented with 100, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg ERG, respectively. The experiment lasted for six weeks. Results showed that, dietary ERG significantly decreased the diarrhea incidence (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.001), and the feed-to-gain ratio (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.038). Compared with the CON group, ERG supplementation at 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly decreased the serum concentration of urea (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.025) while dietary ERG quadratically decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.027). Dietary ERG supplementation linearly increased the serum concentration of IgG (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.044) and quadratically increased the serum level of immunoglobulin (Ig) M (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.007). In addition, compared with the CON group, ERG supplementation at 400 mg/kg significantly increased the serum concentration of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> = 0.025). Compared with the CON group, ERG supplementation at 200 mg/kg significantly increased the villus height, the abundance of ZO-1 protein, and the total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) in the jejunal epithelium (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). ERG supplementation at 200 and 400 mg/kg increased the abundance of jejunal secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA)-positive cells compared with that in the CON group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Moreover, ERG elevated the abundance of <ce:italic>Lactobacillus</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>Bifidobacterium,</ce:italic> and the concentrations of major short-chain fatty acids in the caecum (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). Importantly, ERG downregulated the expression level of IL-6 in the jejunum relative to the CON group (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). ERG supplementation at 200 mg/kg also decreased the expression levels of <ce:italic>Caspase-9</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>NF-κB</ce:italic> in the duodenum and ileum, respectively (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic> &lt; 0.05). These results suggest a beneficial effect of ERG on the growth and intestinal health in weaned pigs, and such an effect may be closely associated with improved immunity, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal epithelial barrier function, as well as improved intestinal microbiota.","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147642180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Iron nutrition and host microbiota regulation in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.): The health risk of excess surpasses that of deficiency","authors":"Jinzhu Yang, Xiaoyang Yao, Xiao Li, Weijian Huang, Gang Lin, Mingzhu Li, Kangsen Mai, Yanjiao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.10.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.10.015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147619949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Encapsulation of essential oils from tropical plants as a strategy to mitigate methane emissions and improve nutritional status of ruminants: A review","authors":"Uswatun Muslykhah, Srisan Phupaboon, Sukruthai Sommai, Chaichana Suriyapha, Metha Wanapat","doi":"10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2025.12.012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8184,"journal":{"name":"Animal Nutrition","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147619948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}