Med. Weter. 80
full text
| RUSU LAURA ANDREEA, ȘANDRU CARMEN DANA, OLAH DIANA, PALL EMOKE, CERBU CONSTANTIN, VASIU AUREL, VASILE COZMA, BĂIEȘ MIHAI, SPÎNU MARINA |
| How antimicrobial plant extracts can affect the in vitro cell-mediated response in free-range Mangalitsa pigs |
| The Mangalitsa pig bread, becoming more and more popular, is raised in Romania, especially on low input farms, for its tasty and unique flavoured meat. In such systems, the survival of animals and the outcome of the impact of pathogens on health is highly depend on the pigs’ immunity. Thus medicinal plants which are known for their biological activities, available on the pastures or in the feed provided, could act as immunity enhancers, strengthening the pigs’ resistance to diseases. The research was carried out on extensively raised suckling, weaned piglets and sows of the Mangalitsa breed, divided by ages in groups of ten (n=10). Blood samples were taken, for ethical and health concern reasons, during the campaign for brucellosis testing, official in Romania. The samples were then transported to the laboratory in less than four hours and immediately subjected to the leukocyte blast transformation test. For this, the blood was mixed 1:4 with RPMI1640 (Sigma Aldrich, USA), then divided in 200 µl aliquots/well, in 96 well-plates and supplemented with alcoholic plant extracts (Calendula officinalis, Satureja hortensis, Allium sativum, Coriandrum sativum, Cucurbita pepo), 1.5 µl/well, in duplicate. After a 48 h incubation period at 37⁰C, the cultures were tested for residual glucose in the supernatant by the orto-toluidin test, obtaining a green compound quantified by spectrophotometry (SUMAL PE2, Karl Zeiss, Jena, =610 nm, d=0.5 cm). The glucose consumption (%) was calculated versus the initial culture medium glucose content for each variant. The variant and the groups were then compared by Student’s t test for statistical significance of the results. The results indicated statistically significant differences between the young age groups, suckling and weaned piglets (p=0.017 to 0.000016) for all plants except marigold, for weaned piglets and sows (p=0.0001-0.0359), for all plant extracts, while for suckling piglets – sows p=0.0035 and p=0.0461 were recorded for summer savory and garlic, respectively. The plant extracts used known for biological effects impacted based on the age of the pigs and plant family, proving their immune stimulating capacity. |
| Key words: Mangalitsa, low input, adaptive immune response, plant extracts |