Effect of dietary bovine lactoferrin on lipid peroxidation and activities, and mRNA levels of antioxidant enzymes of piglets

The experiment was conducted to evaluate effect of dietary bovine lactoferrin (bLF) on lipid peroxidation and activities as well as mRNA levels of antioxidant enzymes of piglets. Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire crossbred female piglets (n=120, 35 days of age, liveweight 9.70 +/- 0.71 kg) were fed a diet containing 0, 1250, or 2500 mg/kg bLF for 30 days. After completion of the feeding experiment, twelve female piglets with 4 animals in each treatment were randomly selected to determine malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) levelsc-zinc-superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), glutathione perioxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) activities in serum and liver, and CuZnSOD, GPx and CAT mRNA levels in liver. Results showed that piglets treated with 2500 mg/kg bLF significantly increased (P < 0.05) TAOC levels, the activities of GPx, CuZnSOD and CAT, and mRNA levels of CuZnSOD, GPx and CAT, and decreased (P < 0.05) the contents of MDA as compared with control. Supplementation with 1250 mg/kg bLF also increased (P < 0.05) the activities of CuZnSOD, GPx and CAT and mRNA levels of GPx and CAT, and decreased (P<0.05) the contents of MDA as compared with control, but the effect was not better than that of dietary addition of 2500 mg/kg bLF (P < 0.05). The study indicated that addition of bLF improved the antioxidant function of piglets by up-regulation of mRNA levels and activities of certain antioxidant enzymes associated with free radicals metabolism.