DIAO Hui, LU Yingying, LI Shuwei, TANG Wenjie, HE Peng, CAI Meiya, ZHOU Mengjia, YAN Jiayou, HUANG Chongbo, HE Zhiping, LI Mingzhou, SUN Zhihong
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The study aimes to investigate the effects of dietary copper sources and levels on the growth performance and immune function of weaned piglets. A total of 120 Duroc × Landrance × Yorkshire (DLY) weaned piglets with an initial average body weight of 7.40 ± 1.1 kg aged at 28 days were divided into five groups, with six replicates per treatment and four pigs per replicate, based on the principle of similar weight and balanced male and female ratio and a completely randomized block design. The dietary treatment groups were as follows: control group, basal diet; 20 mg/kg copper citrate group (basal diet + 20 mg/kg copper citrate); 100 mg/kg copper citrate group (basal diet +100 mg/kg copper citrate); 20 mg/kg copper sulfate group (basal diet + 20 mg/kg copper sulfate) and 100 mg/kg copper sulfate group (basal diet +100 mg/kg copper sulfate. The whole trial lasted for 28 days. The results showed that no differences were observed in the average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) among the five groups during the experimental period (P>0.05). However, compared to the control group, the addition of 20 mg/kg copper citrate to the diet significantly elevated the levels of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin A (IgA), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IgA) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) (P<0.05). Furthermore, the inclusion of 100 mg/kg copper citrate significantly increased the concentrations of serum IgG, IgA, IL-6, and IL-10 (P<0.05). Similarly, dietary supplementation with 20 mg/kg copper sulfate led to a significant increase in the levels of serum IgG and IL-10 in the piglets (P<0.05) . The colon mucosal IgG concentration significantly increased in the 20 mg/kg copper citrate group and 100 mg/kg copper citrate group (P<0.05), compared with the control group. Additionally, higher concentration of IgA in the colonic mucosa of piglets (P<0.05) was exhibited in other four groups. Besides, the colon mucosal IL-6 level in the 100 mg/kg copper citrate group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, the supplementation of 20 and 100 mg/kg of copper citrate in piglet diet effectively enhances the immune function of weaned piglets.