Effects of Dietary Fluoride Levels on Growth, Serum Indexes and Antioxidant Systems in Growing Pigs

Ninety-six growing pigs were used to evaluate the effects of fluoride levels on growth performance, serum indexes and antioxidant systems. Four dietary treatments were formulated by supplementing fluorine (as NaF) to provide the following added fluorine levels: 0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg. The results showed that pigs consuming diets with 100 and 150 mg/kg fluorine added had poor growth performance, and most serum biochemical indexes were significantly altered compared to the control (P < 0.05). On the other hand, serum and liver MDA concentration significantly increased due to the addition of 150 mg/kg fluorine (P < 0.05). T-AOC levels and the activities of SOD, GSH-PX, CAT and GST of serum and liver in fluoride added groups decreased, most of which altered significantly (P < 0.05). These results indicated that excessive fluoride ingestion had an adverse effect on animal health and performance.