Review | Effects of vitamins D, E, and C supplementation on pig’s health under different challenge models
Introduction
Pig production frequently face significant challenges (e.g. infectious diseases, environmental stressors, and management practices) that negatively affect pigs health and productivity, causing exacerbated immune reactivations and oxidative stress (Le Floc’h et al., 2021).
Oxidative stress caused by zearalenone-contaminated feed (Su et al., 2018), lipid peroxidation (Silva-Guillen et al., 2020), heat stress (Feng et al., 2017), rotavirus (Tian et al., 2016), and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (Yang et al., 2019) can be used as challenge models that simulate stressors at the farm level. These challenge models aim to understand their effects on the physiological and immunological responses of pigs, and help to develop mitigation strategies such as vitamin supplementation in diets.
Vitamins D, E, and C play vital roles in supporting pig health through their contributions to immune response, antioxidant defense, and metabolic processes (Hao et al., 2021; Mainardi et al., 2024). Although isolated studies have addressed the effects of these vitamins under normal and challenging conditions, there are still significant gaps regarding their specific requirements and mechanisms of action.
Maintaining optimal dietary levels of these vitamins is essential, particularly when pigs face various stressors that require additional nutritional support. Research shows that increasing dietary levels of these vitamins beyond current recommendations can boost immune responses and reduce oxidative stress, enhancing intestinal health and mitigating adverse effects of stressors (Liu et al., 2016; Feng et al., 2017).
Thus, this review aimed to summarize information on the roles of vitamins D, E, and C in immune regulation and antioxidant capacity, emphasizing their importance in supporting the intestinal health of pigs in challenging conditions such as infections, oxidative stress, and heat stress.
Impacts of Dietary Supplementation with Vitamins D, E, and C on Immune Function, Antioxidant Capacity, and Intestinal Health in Challenged Pigs
Vitamin D
Vitamin D regulates mineral homeostasis (Ca, P, Mg) and bone function, and influences innate and adaptive immune responses (Wu et al., 2019; Calder et al., 2020), for example:
Supports intestinal barrier function by upregulating tight and adherens junctions proteins, increasing transepithelial resistance in intestinal ...
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