Non-12α-Hydroxylated Bile Acids Improve Piglet Growth Performance by Improving Intestinal Flora, Promoting Intestinal Development and Bile Acid Synthesis

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Bile acids have various physiological functions in the body. On the one hand, they can promote the digestion and absorption of fats as emulsifiers, and on the other hand, they participate in many metabolic pathways as signaling molecules. In addition, bile acids can shape the gut flora and improve gut health. This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of non-12α-hydroxylated bile acids on the growth and development, and intestinal flora of weaned piglets. This study showed that the addition of non-12α-hydroxylated bile acids could improve growth performance and nutrient digestibility in weaned piglets without negatively affecting the liver. In addition, the addition of non-12α-hydroxylated bile acids also improved the intestinal flora, increased the abundance of Lactobacillus_johnsonii, and increased the content of short-chain fatty acids. ABSTRACT: As an emulsifier and bioactive substance, bile acids (BAs) participate in the absorption of nutrients and in various physiological processes. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of non-12α-hydroxylated BAs (including hyocholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid, from now on referred to as NBAs) on growth performance, BAs metabolism and the intestinal flora of piglets. The experiment included four groups, with eight piglets per group. The four groups of pigs were fed 0, 60, 120 and 180 mg/kg of NBAs, respectively. The results show that adding NBAs significantly increased the final weight (FW), average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and digestibility of crude fat (EE) and organic matter (OM) in piglets (p < 0.05). Adding NBAs significantly increased the villus height (VH) of the jejunum and ileum (p < 0.05). In addition, NBAs supplementation increased the content of urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CREA) as well as the ratio of urea nitrogen to creatinine (BUN/CREA) in serum (p < 0.05). Adding NBAs can affect the genes related to BAs enterohepatic circulation. Specifically, adding NBAs significantly decreased the relative mRNA abundance of FXR in the liver (p < 0.05), significantly increased the relative mRNA abundance of CYP27A1 (p < 0.05), and significantly increased the relative mRNA abundance of NTCP (p < 0.05). Adding NBAs also significantly decreased the relative mRNA abundance of FXR in the ileum (p < 0.05). In the full-length 16S rDNA sequencing analysis, ten biomarkers were found from the gate to the species level. NBAs mainly enriched Lactobacillus_Johnsonii and decreased the abundance of Streptococcus_alactolyticus. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) content in the colon was significantly increased (p < 0.05). These results indicate that NBAs supplementation can improve the growth performance of piglets, promote the development of the bile acid replacement pathway and improve intestinal flora.