Effects of different levels of tea tree essential oil on growth performance and immune function of piglets
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of tea tree essential oil supplementation on growth performance,diarrhea rate and immune function of weaned piglets,and to screen the most appropriate supplemental levels.A total of 96 21-day-old'Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire'weaned piglets were randomly divided into four groups with three replicates per group and 8 weaned piglets per replicate.Piglets in the control group were fed corn-soybean meal basal diet,and the experimental groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 50,100,and 200 mg/kg tea tree essential oil,respectively.The pre-feeding period lasted for 7 days and the formal experiment period lasted for 28 days.The results showed as follows:Compared with the control group,feeding 100 mg/kg tea tree essential oil significantly increased the final weight and average daily gain of weaned piglets(P<0.05),and significantly decreased the ratio of feed to gain(P<0.05).Feeding 100 and 200 mg/kg of tea tree essential oil could reduce the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets by 28.89%and 51.60%(P<0.05).Compared with the control group,feeding 100 mg/kg tea tree essential oil significantly increased the serum levels of immunoglobulin A(IgA),immunoglobulin G(IgG),immunoglobulin M(IgM),interleukin-2(IL-2),and interleukin-10(IL-10)of weaned piglets(P<0.05),the level of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)was significantly decreased(P<0.05).Feeding 50,100,and 200 mg/kg tea tree essential oil significantly decreased the serum interleukin-6(IL-6)level of weaned piglets(P<0.05).The results showed that adding tea tree essential oil to the feed of weaned piglets could improve the growth performance,reduce the diarrhea rate and enhance the immunity of the body,and the appropriate supplemental level of tea tree essential oil was 100 mg/kg.
Tea tree essential oilGrowth performanceImmune functionWeaned piglet
万方数据
维普
