Melatonin, which is produced from tryptophan, exerts various biological functions, including the regulation of circadian rhythm, sedative agents, and antioxidant ability. Therefore, we conducted two experiments with early-weaned rats and pigs to investigate the antioxidant and sedative effects of melatonin. In the rat experiment, a total of 42 rats (21 days old) were used, and the antioxidant capacity was determined. Next, we used 120 early-weaned piglets (21 days old) to conduct a 5-week experiment to evaluate the reductive effect of melatonin on energy-wasting movement, including roaming and fight states. Dietary melatonin supplementation significantly improved growth in both rats and pigs compared to the control groups. Additionally, rats fed a melatonin-supplemented diet showed advanced antioxidant capacity with a decrease in hepatic malondialdehyde concentration compared to rats fed a basal diet. Moreover, dietary melatonin ingestion increased resting and feeding behaviors and reduced roaming and fight behaviors during Days 8-21 compared to the control diet group. Collectively, early weaned animals given dietary melatonin supplementation showed improved growth through upregulation of hepatic antioxidant capacity and minimization of energy-wasting behavior, including roaming and fight states, after pigs' social hierarchy establishment.
Keywords: Antioxidant; Behavior; Growth performance; Melatonin; Pig; Rat.
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