Early-weaning syndrome is harmful to animals because an effect on growth in the early-stage of life generally determines the overall growth rate. Sophorolipid (SPL), a surface-active glycolipid compound, has been shown to exhibit antimicrobial activity and stimulate cell proliferation. Thus, in vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to evaluate the potential of SPL on the gut turnover after the wound. The in vitro experiment with HT-29 cells showed the increased proliferation with increasing gene levels of collagenase-1 and matrilysin-1. Next, the 16-day in vivo experiment was conducted with thirty rats (14-day-old), and the allocation was performed according to their body weight (BW) into three treatments: control diet (CON), 48 ppm of oxytetracycline-supplemented diet (OTC) and 10 ppm of SPL-supplemented diet (SPL). Dietary SPL accelerates the growth of rats in overall periods, and intestinal permeability was lower in SPL at day 16. Villus:crypt ratio and the goblet cell count were also higher in SPL than in CON at day 8. Caecal Streptococcus spp. were significantly reduced with dietary SPL and OTC at day 8 and 16, and total short-chain fatty acid, acetate and butyrate levels were increased in the SPL at day 8. In conclusion, these data demonstrated that SPL could improve gut remodelling potential and modulate the gut environments, resulted in acceleration of post-weaning growth. Therefore, SPL could have a potential as a feed additive aimed at promoting repair system after wound in animal's gut.
Keywords: early-weaning syndrome; glycolipid emulsifier; gut remodelling; intestinal microflora; short-chain fatty acid.
© 2021 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.