Dietary ferulic acid supplementation improves antioxidant capacity and lipid metabolism in liver of piglets with intrauterine growth retardation

Abstract

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) can result in early liver oxidative damage and abnormal lipid metabolism in neonatal piglets. Ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic compound widely found in plants, has many biological functions, such as anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation. Thus, we explored the effects of dietary FA supplementation on antioxidant capacity and lipid metabolism in newborn piglets with IUGR. In the study, 24 7-day-old piglets were divided into three groups: normal birth weight (NBW), IUGR, and IUGR + FA. The NBW and IUGR groups were fed formula milk as a basal diet, while the IUGR + FA group was fed a basal diet supplemented with 100 mg/kg FA. The trial lasted 21 days. The results showed that IUGR decreased absolute liver weight, increased transaminase activity, reduced antioxidant capacity, and disrupted lipid metabolism in piglets. Dietary FA supplementation enhanced absolute liver weight, reduced serum MDA level and ROS concentrations in serum and liver, markedly increased serum and liver GSH-PX and T-SOD activities, decreased serum HDL-C and LDL-C and liver NEFA, and increased TG content and HL activity in the liver. The mRNA expression related to the Nrf2-Keap1 signaling pathway and lipid metabolism in liver were affected by IUGR. Supplementing FA improved the antioxidant capacity of liver by down-regulating Keap1 and up-regulating the mRNA expression of SOD1 and CAT, and regulated lipid metabolism by increasing the mRNA expression level of Fasn, Pparα, LPL, and CD36. In conclusion, the study suggests that FA supplementation can improve antioxidant capacity and alleviate lipid metabolism disorders in IUGR piglets.

Keywords:

• Intrauterine growth retardation
• hepatic injury
• ferulic acid
• antioxidant capacity
• lipid metabolism

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Huifen Wang and other staffs of our laboratory for their assistance and attention during the experiment.

Ethical approval

The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal’s author guidelines page, have been adhered to and the appropriate ethical review committee approval has been received. All animal procedures were reviewed and approved by the Animal Care Advisory and Use Committee of the Laboratory Animal Center at Sichuan Agricultural University, China.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data supporting the results of this study can be obtained from the corresponding authors according to reasonable requirements.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program (No. 2021ZDZX0009).