Effects Of Different Concentrations Of Ammonia On Immune And Antioxidant Properties Of Growing Pigs

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of different concentrations of ammonia on the blood leukocytes,serum protein,antioxidant and immune performance of growing pigs,and to explore the relationship between ammonia concentration in pig house and the health of growing pigs,so as to provide theoretical basis for healthy breeding of growing pigs.Thirty-six 50-day-old ternary cross-bred growing pigs(Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshine,body weight,10.70±2.10kg)were randomly assigned to one of 4treatment groups with 3 replicate pens per group and 3 pigs per pen.Each treatment group was raised in 4environmental control chambers with ammonia concentration at 0(control group),25 mg/m~3(treatment group Ⅰ),35 mg/m~3(treatment group Ⅱ),and 45 mg/m~3(Treatment group Ⅲ),respectively.The pre-trial period lasted for 7 days.On the 6th,11 th and 16 th day of the trial period,fasting body weight per pig and feed consumption per replicate were weighed at 7:00 to calculate its feeding performance;One pig per replicate was randomly selected,and blood samples were collected from the anterior vena cava on an empty stomach in the morning for determination of white blood cells,serum proteins,immune and antioxidant indexes.After slaughter,immune organs were collected to calculate immune organ index and cell apoptosis rate and observe tissue morphology.The results showed that:(1)Lymphocyte percentage(LYM%)of treatment group Ⅲ was extremely lower than that of other groups(P<0.01)on the 6th day of the experiment.The LYM% in ammonia treatment groups was significantly higher than that in control group on the 16 th day of the experiment(P<0.05).(2)The GLO content of treatment group I and treatment group Ⅲ was significantly lower than that of the control group on the 11 th day of the experiment(P<0.05).(3)The effects of ammonia concentration on the apoptotic rate of mandibular lymph nodes and spleen cells were related to the action time.On the 6th day of the experiment,ammonia concentration had an extremely significant effect on the apoptosis rate of mandibular lymph nodes(P<0.01);on the 11th and 16th day,ammonia concentration had a significant effect on the apoptosis rate of spleen cells(P<0.05).(4)The contents of three Immunoglobulin(Ig)and interleukin-2(IL-2)in serum were significantly decreased in high ammonia concentration group,but the effects occurred at different time.On the 6th day,the serum IgG and IL-2 levels in the treatment group Ⅲ were significantly lower than that of control group(P<0.01),and the serum IgA content in the treatment group Ⅱ and the treatment group Ⅲ was significantly lower than that of treatment group Ⅰ(P<0.01);On the 11 th day,the serum IgG content of treatment group Ⅲ was significantly lower than that of control group(P<0.01);On the 16 th day,,the serum IgM content of treatment group Ⅲ was significantly lower than those of other groups(P<0.01).(5)The effect of ammonia on blood antioxidant activity showed the diversity of action time and enzymes.The total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC)content of the control group was significantly higher than those of treatment groupⅠ and treatment group Ⅲ(P<0.05).The activities of catalase(CAT)in ammonia treatment groups were significantly lower than that in the control group on the 6th day of the experiment(P<0.01);The activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD)was significantly lower in treatment group Ⅲ than that in the control group on the 11 th day(P<0.05);The activities of SOD in the treatment group Ⅰ and treatment group Ⅱ were significantly lower than that in the control group on the 16th day(P<0.05).In conclusion,high concentration of ammonia affected the development of immune organs,inhibited Igsynthesis,caused changes in white blood cells and their types,led to T helper 1(Th1)/Th2 ratio imbalance,affected the immunity and antioxidant capacity of the body.