Piperine as potential therapy of post-weaning porcine diarrheas: an in vitro study using a porcine duodenal enteroid model

Abstract Post-weaning diarrhea in piglets is a major problem, resulting in a significant loss in pig production. This study aimed to investigate the effects of piperine, an alkaloid abundantly found in black peppers, on biological activities related to the pathogenesis of post-weaning diarrhea using a porcine duodenal enteroid model, a newly established intestinal stem cell-derived in vitro model recapitulating physiology of porcine small intestinal epithelia. Porcine duodenal enteroid models were treated with disease-relevant pathological inducers with or without piperine (8 μg/mL and/or 20 μg/mL) before measurements of oxidative stress, mRNA, and protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) nuclear translocation, barrier leakage, and fluid secretion. We found that piperine (20 μg/mL) inhibited H2O2-induced oxidative stress, TNF-α-induced mRNA, and protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines without affecting NF-κB nuclear translocation, and prevented TNF-α-induced barrier leakage in porcine duodenal enteroid monolayers. Importantly, piperine inhibited fluid secretion induced by both forskolin and heat-stable toxins (STa) in a three-dimensional model of porcine duodenal enteroids. Collectively, piperine possesses both anti-inflammatory and anti-secretory effects in porcine enteroid models. Further research and development of piperine may provide novel interventions for the treatment of post-weaning porcine diarrhea

Exogenous Trehalose Improves Growth, Glycogen and Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate (PHB) Contents in Photoautotrophically Grown <i>Arthrospira platensis</i> under Nitrogen Deprivation

Glycogen and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) are excellent biopolymer products from cyanobacteria. In this study, we demonstrate that nitrogen metabolism is positively influenced by the exogenous application of trehalose (Tre) in Arthrospira platensis under nitrogen-deprived (−N) conditions. Cells were cultivated photoautotrophically for 5 days under −N conditions, with or without the addition of exogenous Tre. The results revealed that biomass and chlorophyll-a content of A. platensis experienced enhancement with the addition of 0.003 M and 0.03 M Tre in the −N medium after one day, indicating relief from growth inhibition caused by nitrogen deprivation. The highest glycogen content (54.09 ± 1.6% (w/w) DW) was observed in cells grown for 2 days under the −N + 0.003 M Tre condition (p w/w) DW) was observed in cells grown for 3 days under the −N + 0.03 M Tre condition (p glgA and phaC transcript levels, representing approximately 1.2- and 1.3-fold increases, respectively, in A. platensis grown under −N + 0.003 M Tre and −N + 0.03 M Tre conditions. This was accompanied by the induction of enzyme activities, including glycogen synthase and PHA synthase with maximal values of 89.15 and 0.68 µmol min−1 mg−1 protein, respectively. The chemical structure identification of glycogen and PHB from A. platensis was confirmed by FTIR and NMR analysis. This research represents the first study examining the performance of trehalose in promoting glycogen and PHB production in cyanobacteria under nitrogen-deprived conditions