Cortex Phellodendri Extract Supplementation Alleviates Intestinal Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Microbiota Dysbiosis in Early Weaning Piglets

Piglets’ early weaning frequently encounters intestinal dysfunction and diarrhea that results in growth retardation and even mortality. We previously found Cortex Phellodendri extract (CPE) could relieve post-weaning piglets’ diarrhea whereas the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, to explore the mechanism, 126 piglets were allotted into three groups of seven replicates fed with basal diet, or basal diet + 0.04% CPE, or basal diet + 0.08% CPE. We found 0.04% CPE supplementation effectively decreased piglets’ fecal scores on d7 and d14 post-weaning. In addition, CPE supplementation improved growth performance of early weaning piglets during days 8–14. Further analysis showed CPE supplementation improved the jejunum morphology and increased antioxidant indices, whereas it reduced oxidative metabolites in jejunum tissue. Meanwhile, CPE supplementation increased the mRNA levels of antioxidant indices and anti-inflammatory cytokines but decreased the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines. CPE supplementation shifted gut microbiota and increased alpha diversity indices, namely the Observed species and Abundance-Based Coverage Estimator indices. CPE supplementation increased the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, SMB53, Flexispira, and Ruminococcus_gnavus, but decreased the relative abundances of Parabacteroides and Sutterella. The gut microbiota shifted by CPE supplementation has a significant correlation with the early weaning-related indices. Overall, CPE supplementation alleviated intestinal oxidative stress, inflammation, and microbiota dysbiosis in early weaning piglets.