Antibiotics have been widely used in piglet diets to promote growth performance and reduce diarrhea incidence. However, the resistance of pathogens to antibiotics and the risk of residues of antibiotics in animal products induced a growing interest in the use of alternatives to in-feed antibiotics. Chito-oligosaccharide (COS), a natural alkaline polymer of glucosamine is currently being tested as a substitute for in-feed antibiotics. In weaned piglets, COS has positive effects on promoting growth, which may be related to its action on intestinal morphology, immune ability and beneficial microbiota. However, previous studies shown variable results with effective doses ranging from 30 mg/kg to 5 g/kg. Therefore, the goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that the use of COS can be an alternative to in-feed antibiotics by improve the intestinal morphology of piglets, using the jejunal explant model. The intestinal explants were exposed for 4 h to following treatments: control - only culture media and culture media with COS in doses of 0.025 mg/ml, 0.05 mg/ml, 0.1 mg/ml and 0.15 mg/ml. After the incubation period the explants were processed for histological and morphometrical analysis. The histological changes were evaluated using an adapted histological score based on the intensity and severity of lesions. Mild histological changes were observed in jejunal explants exposed to different treatments; however, no significant difference in the histological score, villi height, crypt depth or villus : crypt ratio were observed between the COS-groups and the control. In addition, goblet cells density in intestinal explants exposed to COS remained statistically similar to control group. Our results indicate that COS exposure in levels ranging from 0.025 to 0.15 mg/ml induced no effect on intestinal morphology of pig's explants. The research will provide guidance on the low dosage of COS supplementation on weaning pigs.
Keywords: explants technique; functional oligosaccharides; goblet cells; intestinal morphology; swine.