Effects of ferulic acid on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal development of piglets with intrauterine growth retardation

Neonates with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) are prone to suffer from delayed postnatal growth and development during the early stages of life. Ferulic acid (FA) is a phenolic compound that is abundantly present in fruits and vegetables and has various health benefits. Hence, we explored whether FA supplementation could favorably affect the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal development of piglets with IUGR. In total, eight normal-birth-weight (NBW) piglets and 16 piglets with IUGR (age, 7 d) were assigned to be fed either basic formula milk (NBW and IUGR groups, respectively) or basic formula milk supplemented with 100 mg/kg FA (IUGR + FA group) for 21 d. At necropsy, the serum and intestinal tissues were collected. FA supplementation increased (P< 0.05) the feed conversion ratio and serum total superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in piglets with IUGR. Moreover, FA supplementation elevated (P< 0.05) the duodenal lactase and maltase activities, jejunal villus height and jejunal maltase activity but reduced (P< 0.05) the duodenal crypt depth and duodenal and jejunal cell apoptosis, cleaved cysteinyl aspartic acid protease-3 (caspase-3) content and cleaved caspase-9 content in piglets with IUGR. In summary, FA supplementation could elevate antioxidant capacity and facilitate intestinal development, thus resulting in increased feed efficiency in piglets with IUGR.Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) impairs postnatal growth and development in neonatal piglets. Ferulic acid (FA) is a ubiquitous phenolic compound that is present in numerous fruits and vegetables and possesses various biological activities. However, little is known about whether FA supplementation has beneficial effects on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal development of piglets with IUGR. Our findings provide important implications for treating piglets with IUGR after birth by stimulating intestinal development with FA supplementation.The present findings are significant for providing new strategies for regulating the growth of piglets with IUGR and highlighting the potential applications of this phytochemical in swine production.