Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the impact of Cardamine violifolia on muscle protein degradation, the inflammatory response and antioxidant function in weaned piglets following LPS challenge. Twenty-four weaned piglets were used in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with dietary treatment (sodium selenite or Cardamine violifolia) and LPS challenge. After 28 days of feeding, pigs were injected intraperitoneally with 100 μg/kg LPS or saline. Dietary supplementation with Cardamine violifolia mitigated the reduction in insulin and growth hormone levels induced by LPS. It also curbed the LPS-induced elevation of plasma glucagon, urea nitrogen, and creatinine concentrations. Cardamine violifolia reduced muscle damage caused by LPS, as evidenced by increased protein content and protein/DNA ratio and decreased TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA expression. Furthermore, Cardamine violifolia modulated the expression of FOXO1, FOXO4, and MuRF1 in muscle, indicative of the protective effect against muscle protein degradation. Enhanced muscle antioxidant function was observed in the form of increased T-AOC, reduced MDA concentration, and decreased mRNA expression of GPX3, DIO3, TXNRD1, SELENOS, SELENOI, SELENOO, and SEPHS2 in LPS-treated piglets. The findings suggest that Cardamine violifolia supplementation can effectively alleviate muscle protein degradation induced by LPS and enhance the antioxidant capacity in piglets.