Birth is one of the most important events of animal production agriculture, as newborns\nare abruptly forced to adapt to environmental and nutritional disruptions that can lead to oxidative\ndamage and delay in growth. Taurine (Tau) is an important regulator of oxidative stress and possesses\ngrowth-enhancing properties. In the present study, we investigated the effects of dietary Tau\nsupplementation in gilts during late gestation and lactation on the growth performance of piglets\nby assessing intestinal morphology and barrier function, and oxidative stress status. Sixteen gilts\nwere randomly allocated to the Con (basal diet) and Tau (basal diet with 1% Tau) groups from 75 d of\ngestation to weaning. Maternal dietary Tau supplementation significantly increased weaning weight\nand average daily gain weight in piglets. Piglets in the Tau group had higher villus height and villus\nheight-to-crypt depth ratio (VCR), ZO-1 protein expression, and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA)\ncontent in the jejunum. Meanwhile, Tau bebeficial aected the milk quality of gilts, as indicated\nby decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and increased total superoxide dismutase\n(T-SOD), total antioxidative capability (T-AOC), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT)\nactivity. Furthermore, Tau supplementation increased T-SOD activity in plasma and SOD2 protein\nexpression in the jejunum in the piglets. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that dietary\nTau supplementation to gilts improves growth performance in piglets, owing to improved intestinal\nmorphology and barrier function, as well as inhibition of oxidative stress.
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