Effects of natural dietary supplementation with Macleaya cordata extract containing sanguinarine on growth performance and gut health of early‐weaned piglets

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Sangrovit® (SAG; minimum of 1.5% sanguinarine, a quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloid extracted from Macleaya cordata) on growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microflora and its metabolites of early‐weaned piglets. A total of 20 healthy weaned piglets (Duroc× [Large White×Landrace]), weaned at 21 days of age with an average body weight (BW) of 6.52 ± 0.23 kg, were randomly assigned to receive either a corn‐soybean meal basal diet (CTR) or a basal diet supplemented with 50 mg/kg SAG (SAG). During the 21‐days trial, we collected and analysed intestinal tissues and the luminal digesta for their morphology and populations of gut microbiota, as well as for measuring the concentrations of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and ammonia. Compared with the CTR group, supplementation with SAG improved average daily gains (p = 0.011) and average daily feed intake (p = 0.037). Piglets fed the SAG diet had an average lower value for crypt depth of the jejunum (p = 0.011) and greater values for villus height in the ileum (p = 0.015) and ratios of villus height to crypt depth in the jejunum (p < 0.01) and in the ileum (p = 0.027) than did animals receiving the CTR diet. The addition of SAG increased the amounts of Lactobacillus in the ileum (p = 0.033) and caecum (p < 0.01), and tended to increase the amounts of Bifidobacterium (p = 0.058) in the caecum, while decreasing the amounts of Escherichia coli (p = 0.046) and Salmonella spp. (p = 0.035) in the ileum, as well as Salmonella spp. (p = 0.029) in the caecum. Dietary supplementation with SAG enhanced (p < 0.05) the concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate and total SCFAs, and also tended to increase the level of valerate (p = 0.055 and p = 0.052) in the ileal and caecal contents when compared with the CTR group. Concentrations of ammonia also declined in the caecal (p = 0.037) and ileal (p = 0.046) digesta in response to SAG. These results indicate that feeding early‐weaned piglets a SAG‐supplemented diet can potentially improve their growth performance and intestinal morphology, and can modify the intestinal luminal environment in a beneficial manner.