Effect of natural plant extracts on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, antioxidant capacity and immune function of weaning pigs.

The experiment was to study the effect of natural plant extracts on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, antioxidant capacity and immune function of weaning pigs. A total of 810 weaned piglets with an average body weight of 7 kg were randomly divided into three groups, with five replicates in each group and 54 piglets in each replicate. The piglets in blank group were fed with a basic diet, the piglets in control group were fed with basic diet supplemented with 53.2 mg/kg gritamycin + 39.2 mg/kg Bacillus peptide Zn, the piglets in test group were fed with basic diet supplemented with 500 g/t natural plant (dandelion and licorice, the content was 70%). The experiment lasted for 35 d, including 3 d of pre-experiment and 32 d of formal experiment. The results showed that adding natural plant extracts had a tendency to increase the weight of weaned piglets, ADG, ADFI and F/G (P>0.05). The diarrhea rate of piglets in test group and control group was significantly lower than that of blank group (P<0.05). ALB and HDL in serum of piglets in test group were significantly higher than that of blank group (P<0.05), TC and BUN were significantly lower than that of blank group (P<0.05). T-AOC and the activities of T-SOD and GSH-Px in serum of piglets of test group were significantly higher than those of control group and blank group (P<0.05), and the content of MDA was significantly lower than control group and blank group (P<0.05). The serum levels of IL-4 in test group and control group were significantly higher than blank group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that natural plant extracts of dandelion and licorice can effectively reduce the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets, enhance the piglet's immunity and antioxidant capacity, improve growth performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]