Effects of quinoa hull meal on piglet performance and intestinal epithelial physiology

Saponin-containing feed additives have shown positive effects on pig
performance. Quinoa hull has high saponin content and may be of
interest as a feed additive. This study aimed to evaluate quinoa hull
meal (QHM) as a feed additive in a pig diet. The effects of QHM were
assessed for three dosages of South American (SA) origin (100, 300 and
500 mg/kg) and one dosage of Danish (DK) quinoa (300 mg/kg). In
addition, the effect of dietary SA-QHM and SA-QHM-extract on jejunal
epithelial physiology was studied ex vivo in Ussing chambers. The experiment
included 400 piglets weaned at 28 ± 2 days of age and the experimental
period was 4 weeks. Piglets were weighed initially and finally
and feed intake registered. The ex vivo studies were performed with epithelium
from 40 pigs receiving control or SA-QHM. Epithelium from
each pig was placed into eight Ussing chambers, where four concentrations
of SA-QHM-extract were added. Epithelial permeability,
Na+-dependent glucose transport and serotonin (5-HT) and theophylline-
induced secretion were measured. The results showed that QHM
had no influence on piglet’s growth (p = 0.41) or feed intake (p = 0.17).
In spite of a large difference in saponin content between SA-QHM and
DK-QHM (28.7% and 2.0% w/w respectively) the source did not affect
pig performance. The ex vivo studies revealed no effect (p > 0.05) of
adding QHM-extract into the medium. The permeability and glucose
induced absorption were highest (p = 0.003 and p = 0.04 respectively)
in epithelium from pigs that consumed 100 or 300 mg/kg SA-QHM. The
secretory response to 5-HT was not affected (p = 0.59) by dietary treatments,
but the theophylline-induced secretion decreased (p = 0.02) with
increasing dietary SA-QHM. The changes in epithelial physiology mea