Bamboo vinegar powder supplementation improves the antioxidant ability of the liver in finishing pigs

Bamboo vinegar, a natural liquid manufactured from bamboo, has been regarded as a potential antibiotic substitute in animal production. In this study, we evaluated the effects and mechanism of bamboo vinegar powder (BVP) on the antioxidant ability of pigs. A total of 40 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire healthy pigs (80.88 ± 0.82 kg) were selected and randomly allocated into 5 different groups: control group (CG, fed with basal diets); antibiotic group (AG, fed with antibiotic-supplemented diets); 0.5% BVP group (0.5% BVG, fed 0.5% BVP-supplemented diets); 1.0% BVP group (1.0% BVG, fed with 1.0% BVP-supplemented diets) and 1.5% BVP group (1.5% BVG, fed with 1.5% BVP-supplemented diets). With the BVP-supplemented diets, the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the blood increased (P < 0.05), the activities of GSH-Px and catalase (CAT) in the liver also increased (P < 0.05), the activity of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) increased both in the liver and blood (P < 0.05), but the activity of iNOS in the liver and blood decreased (P < 0.05). Moreover, the gene expressions of Nuclear related factor 2 (Nrf2), catalytic subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCLC), NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1(NQO1), heme oxygenase 1(HO1), Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and Catalase (CAT) in the liver were also increased due to the addition of BVP (P < 0.05). In conclusion, BVP supplementation improved the antioxidant ability of the liver in finishing pigs by increasing the activity of some antioxidant enzymes and decreasing the activity of oxidative stress enzymes. These changes may be due to the activation of the Nrf2-Are pathway.