Doctoral Candidate North Carolina A&T State Univ., North Carolina, United States
Introduction/Rationale: The post-weaning period for piglets is a highly challenging time. When weaned at or before 21 days, piglets do not have a mature immune system. Thus, piglets are susceptible to infectious diseases threatening their welfare and swine production. To prevent production limitations, antibiotics are used to eliminate infections. However, the continuous use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance and increase the cost of production. To address these issues, we sought to evaluate potential alternatives to supporting piglet immunity. Moringa oleifera is a plant often used in traditional medicine that is known to be rich in vitamins and antioxidants. Moringa is also known to modulate immune activity and acts as a feed supplement in the literature. These studies sought to determine whether supplementing piglet feed with Moringa oleifera alters white blood cell recruitment. We also measured T lymphocyte proliferation in response to direct stimulation when given a Moringa-supplemented diet.
Methods: For this study, weaned 21-day-old piglets were fed either a Control diet (n=3) or a diet supplemented with 3% dried Moringa leaf (n=3) for 21 days. White blood cell (WBC) counts were compared by differential cell count on blood collected on days 0, 7, 14, and 21. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs) were isolated from the blood collected from each group at days 7, 14, and 21. T lymphocytes were stimulated using Concanavalin A (CON A) to determine if Moringa supplementation in the piglet diet altered T lymphocyte proliferation. We evaluated T lymphocyte proliferation through the MTT assay.
Results: We report no significant difference in the numbers of macrophages, lymphocytes, or neutrophils between groups or in the proliferation of T lymphocytes isolated from piglets fed control diets and those fed diets with 3% Moringa supplementation.
Conclusion: We conclude that 3% Moringa feed supplementation does not impact WBC counts in weaned piglets or the responsiveness of T lymphocytes to stimulation.
