Open AccessArticle
Dietary Glutamic Acid Modulates Immune Responses and Gut Health of Weaned Pigs
by
1,†, 1,†, 2,†, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6
, 7,* and 1,*
1
Division of Animal and Dairy Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea
2
Division of Food and Animal Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea
3
Department of Beef Science, Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jeonju 54874, Korea
4
Pathway Intermediates, Seoul 06253, Korea
5
Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
6
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
7
Department of Animal Resources Science, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work as the first authors.
Academic Editor: Maria Teresa Capucchio
Received: 22 January 2021
/
Revised: 9 February 2021
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Accepted: 10 February 2021
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Published: 15 February 2021
Simple Summary
Weaning stress can lead to intestinal barrier dysfunction, immune system destruction, and intestinal microbiota disruption, thereby reducing the absorption of nutrients and causing intestinal diseases. Glutamic acid is a non-essential amino acid that is abundantly present in the body and plays an essential function in cellular metabolism and immune responses. In this study, the effects of dietary glutamic acid on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, immune responses, and intestinal health of weaned pigs were evaluated. Based on the results, dietary glutamic acid increased growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and ileal gene expression of tight junction proteins of weaned pigs and modified immune responses and gut microbiota. This study provides information to understand the functional use of dietary glutamic acid as a feed additive for improving the growth performance and intestinal health of weaned pigs.