AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE

www.arccjournals.com / www.ijaronline.inIndian J. Anim. Res., 48 (6) : 575-579, 2014

doi:10.5958/0976-0555.2014.00034.X

ROLE OF ZINC AND COPPER IN GROWTHPERFORMANCE OF WEANING PIGLETS

Ilakshy Deka* , B.C. Sarmah, Suresh Kumar1, J. Goswami and D.N. Sarma2

Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Science,Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati-781 001, India

Received: 06-01-2013 Accepted: 01-04-2013

ABSTRACTTrace mineral supplementation in newly weaned piglets is essential for efficient growth performance.

The present experiment was designed to validate the role of zinc and copper during the growingperiod. A total of fifteen weaned piglets (10.60 ± 0.345 kg body weight; 60 days of age) were dividedinto three equal groups and were supplemented with 100ppm zinc and 10ppm copper (group A),200ppm zinc and 20ppm copper (group B) and 300ppm zinc and 30ppm copper (group C) for aperiod of 4 months. The BWG, ADG and FCR improved significantly (p< 0.01) in groups B and C.Histologicaly, increase in intestinal thickness, duodenal gland size, hyperplasia and hypertrophy ofgoblet cells, villi height, crypt depth and payer patches were observed in group B and C than thecorresponding group A. The present study established that above 100 ppm Zn and10 ppm Cuenhanced the growth performances of pigs.

Key words: Copper, Growth, Pig, Zinc.

*Corresponding author’s e-mail: drilakshy_pd@yahoo.com, 1ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region,Umiam, Barapani, Meghalaya. 2CVSc, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati-781 001, India

INTRODUCTIONZinc plays a significant role in pig production

as it regulates 1000 metallo-enzymes Pallauf (2005)that are essential for various biochemical processesin the body. The role of zinc in cellular utilization ofoxygen, maintenance of cell membrane integrity andsequestration of the free radicals (Chang et al, 1998),cell proliferation (Mac Donald, 2000) synthesis andrepair of DNA (Chesters et al., 1990), RNA(Blanchard and Cousins, 1996) and protein (Hicksand Wallwork, 1987) indicates its importance in thebiological system. Copper being the second essentialtrace mineral after zinc is known to be a componentof large number of metallo enzymes. Therefore, it ishighly accountable in respect of growth, bonedevelopment and reproduction (Underwood andShuttle, 1999). Although, individually both Zn andCu are essential for growth, reproduction and betterhealth coverage of livestock. However, the ratio ofthe two minerals is known to be more important foroptimizing the productive performance of piglets but,the ratio to Zn and Cu has been kept same i.e. 10 to1 in all the three treatment groups. Under traditional

pig management practices, Zinc deficiency is morelikely to occur because the pig grow at a rapid rateand reproduces at an early age with larger litter sizeand shorter inter furrowing interval. Therefore, thepresent experiment was designed to establish asuitable dose level of Zn and Cu for optimizingproductive performances in the weaning piglets ofNorth Eastern Region (NEH).

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe animal experimentation was conducted

at ICAR Research Complex for North Eastern HillRegion, Umiam, Barapani, Meghalaya and all thelaboratory work was done in the Department ofVeterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Science,Assam Agricultural Universi ty, Khanapara,Guwahati. A total of fifteen weaned piglets (10.60± 0.345 kg body weight; 60 days of age) weredivided into three equal groups and weresupplemented with 100ppm zinc and 10ppm copper(group A), 200ppm zinc and 20ppm copper (groupB) and 300ppm zinc and 30ppm copper (group C)for a period of 4 months. In all the groups equal

576 INDIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL RESEARCH

TAB

LE 1

: B

OD

Y W

EIG

HT

(kg

, M

EA

N ±

SE

), A

VE

RA

GE

BO

DY

WE

IGH

T G

AIN

(kg

, M

EA

N ±

SE

) A

ND

FC

E (

ME

AN

± S

E)

IN D

IFFE

RE

NT

TR

EAT

ME

NT

GR

OU

PS

.

Para

met

er.

Trea

t.

Age

in m

onth

s

G

roup

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

BW

G(K

g)A

10.6

0a ±0.

292

13.2

0a ±0.

255

16.6

0a ±0.

292

20.9

0a ±0.

458

25.3

0a ±0.

663

29.9

0a ±0.

332

34.5

0a ±0.

500

39.4

0a ±0.

678

45.0

0a ±

0.83

7B

10.7

0a ±0.

860

14.4

0b ±0.

400

18.9

0b ±0.

458

23.6

0b ±0.

510

28.4

0b ±0.

400

34.2

0b ±

0.58

339

.80b ±

0.86

044

.90b ±

0.51

051

.20b ±

1.15

8C

10.7

0a ±0.

374

14.9

0b ±0.

332

19.6

0b ±0.

292

24.8

0b ±0.

374

29.8

0c ±0.

255

35.2

0c ±

0.46

441

.00c ±

0.61

246

.90c ±

0.43

054

.00c ±

0.50

0A

DG

(Kg)

A—

0.17

3a ±0.

012

0.22

6a ±0.

066

0.28

6a ±0.

034

0.29

3a ±0.

046

0.30

6a ±0.

040

0.30

6a ±0.

034

0.32

6a ±0.

267

0.37

3a ±0.

026

B—

0.25

2a ±0.

063

0.29

3a ±0.

038

0.31

3a ±0.

046

0.32

0a ±0.

039

0.38

2a ±0.

045

0.37

3a ±0.

026

0.33

9a ±0.

067

0.41

9a ±0.

055

C—

0.27

9a ±0.

027

0.31

3a ±0.

220

0.34

6a ±0.

030

0.34

6a ±0.

027

0.35

9a ±0.

034

0.38

6a ±0.

053

0.39

2a ±0.

.048

0.45

9a ±0.

046

*Mea

n be

arin

g si

mila

r su

pers

crip

t in

the

tab

les

do n

ot d

iffer

sig

nific

antly

.

amount of feed was provided and left over wasrecorded prior to next feeding. Body weights of theexperimental piglets were recorded from 2 monthsof age at fortnightly interval till attainment of 6months of age before feeding. The body weight gain(BWG), average body weight gain (ADG) wererecorded and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) wascalculated. The pigs were slaughter at 4 months ofexperimental feeding. Three portion of the smallintestine were collected i.e. duodenum, jejunum andileum. All the tissue sections were processed andstained by the method described by Dellfield asstated by Luna (1968).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe BWG and ADG in three treatment

groups are presented in Table- 1. Higher BWG andADG was recorded when the supplemental dietarylevel of Zn: Cu was increased from 100:10ppm to300:30ppm. At 6 months of age, highest BWG (54.00± 0.500 kg) and ADG (0.459 ± 0.046) was recordedin group C and lowest BWG (45.00 ± 0.873 kg) andADG (0.373 ± 0.026) was observed in group A..

Results of the present study clearly indicatedthat growth performance of the piglets was improvedwhen supplemented with more than 100 ppm ofdietary levels of zinc in group B and group C. Earlierstudies also indicated that pigs performed well whenthe dietary Zn level was more than 100 ppm (Heugtenet al., 2003; Martinez et al., 2004). The significantlyhigher Fe content in soil and water of the NER mighthave reduced the bioavailability of Zn, resulted inhigher demand of supplemental Zn in the diet(Sarmah, 2010). Berger (2002) reported beneficialeffects of Zn and Cu in promoting growth to thestimulatory affect of gustin and carbonic anhydraseare Zn dependent enzymes causing increase bodyweight gain. Zn and Cu also have some antibacterialproperties (Oatway et al., 2001) which may alsoexplain the growth promoting effect. Besideantibacterial activity Cu is also essential forhemoglobin synthesis and therefore responsible forcontinuous supply of O2 and removal of CO2 to andfrom the cells. Nato et al. (1995) described theinvolvement of Zn in growth and development oftissues enhancing perception of taste, regulation ofappetite, increased food consumption, DNA andRNA synthesis, cell transcription in the synthesis ofsomatomedin-C, alkaline phosphatase, collagen,

577Vol. 48, No. 6, 2014

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

4

A 1 B 1 C 1

FEE

D C

ON

VE

RS

ION

EF

ICIE

NC

Y

TREATMENT GROUPS

FIG 1: FEED CONVERSION EFFICIENCY ( MEAN ) INDIFFERENT TREATMENT GROUPS FOR THE WHOLEEXPERIMENTAL PERIOD (4 MONTHS) FROM 2 TO 6

MONTHS OF AGE .

DUODENAL GLANDS

MUSCULARIS LAYERSUBMUCOSAL

LAYER

CRYPTSMUCOSAL LAYER

DUODENAL GLANDS

DUODENAL GLANDS

VILLI

a b

c

VILLIVILLI

FIG 2: Cross section of duodenum indicating duodenalglands a) A group, b) B group and c) Cgroup.

a b

c d

MUCOSAL VILLI

CRYPT

MUCOSAL LAYER

GOBLET CELL

MUCOSAL FOLDS

FIG 3: Cross section of jujenum a) A group, b) B group andc) C group indicating the goblet cells d) C group indicating

the mucosal folds.

oesteocalcin and participating in protein, lipid andcarbohydrate metabolism. It was further, confirmedthat adequate dietary level of Zn is essential foroptimizing growth (Azizzadeh et al., 2005),reproduction (Anderson,1993; White,1993 ),strengthening the immune system (Pamela et al.,2004; Shinde et al.,2006) and maintaining generalhealth (Azizzadeh et al., 2005; Chauhan et al.,2006).

The total feed intake and FCE (Mean ± SE)were 120.33 ± 0 .85 kg and 3.49 ± 0.09; 120.32 ±0 .52 kg and 2.97 ± 0.08; 120.53 ± 0.23kg and2.78 ± 0.04 in A, B, C groups respectively. The bestFCE was recorded in C group followed by B and Agroup (Fig.1.). Pig is known as excellent converter

of feed when compared to other livestock species.However optimization of FCE depends on theinteraction of different macro and micro nutrients.Therefore strategic nutrient intervention is essentialfor better FCE which was supported by the higherBWG and ADG. Many earlier workers (Heugte etal.,2003; Xilong et al.,2006) has reported that, Znsupplementation at higher dose level led to improvethe FCE in pig and was in agreement with the presentfindings.

Histological studies of the duodenum at 6months of age revealed that, the Duodenal(Brunner’s) glands in A group are in patches andscattered but, not in a continuous patten (Fig..2.a)whereas, in B (Fig.2.b) and C (Fig.2.c) the duodenalglands are in continuous pattern and the thicknessincreased along with increased supplemental levelof Zn:Cu. The duodenal glands secrete the digestiveenzymes along with mucus. Zinc supplementation

increases the enzymes secretion by hyperactiveduodenal glands, thereby causing hyperplasia andhypertrophy of the duodenal glands.

In group A (Fig.4.a) the payer patches wererelatively less and scattered in the submucosal layerof ileum whereas, in B (Fig 4.b.) the payer patchesincreased as the supplemental level of Zn: Cuincreased. In group C (Fig. 4.c) the payer patcheswere in the form of tree like structure. The numberof payer patches increased along with increasedsupplemental level of Zn: Cu. Payer Patches werethe first line of defense in the body and zinc helpesto provide immunity to the body (Pamela et. al.,2004) and maintaining general health (Azizzadeh etal.,2005).

578 INDIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL RESEARCH

Payer patches

Payer patches

Tree like payer patches

FIG 4: Cross section of ileum indicating payer patches a) Agroup, b) B group and c) C group.

The number of the goblet cells (Fig.2,3and 4) increased as the dose rate of the Zn:Cuincreased. The Physiological function of the Gobletcell is to secrete mucus. Zinc is known as a potentregulator of mucin gene expression in the smallintestine (Blanchard and Cousins, 1996; Mack etal., 2003). Subsequently, the growth promoting effect

of Zn and Cu have been attributed to effect onhealthy intestinal microflora (Hojberg et al., 2005).

In duodenum, jejunum and ileum thethickness of the mucosa layer and the villi hightincreased as the dose rate of Zn:Cu increased.Supplementing Zn in starter diets increased the villusheight (Payne et al.,2006). Like Zn, Cu also influencedthe physiological activities of the small intestine.Histologically, it was reported that supplementationof additional Cu in the diet resulted in the increasedcrypt depth of the small intestine as recorded in thehistological sections (Shurson et al., 1990). Cryptdepth is the indicator of cell proliferation, and lessenergy may thus be spent on cell renewal in pigs fedhigh copper (Hedemann et al.,2006).

CONCLUSIONThe present study established that Zn:Cu

plays a significant role in growth by modulating theintestinal histology. Therefore, to enhance the growthperformance the dietary level of Zn and Cu isrecommended to be 300ppm and 30 ppmrespectively particularly in the agro climatic zonesof Northeastern region in India.

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