Maternal chromium supplementation improves oxidation resistance, immunity, and intestinal morphology of goat kids injected with lipopolysaccharide

This study evaluated the effects of maternal chromium (Cr), supplemented with Cr propionate (CrPro) during perinatal period of does, on antioxidant capacity, immune response, and intestinal morphology of goat kids injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Forty Lezhi black does at 90 d of pregnancy were divided into 4 groups based on body weight (52.36±8.24) kg with 10 replicate pens for each treatment and one doe for each replicate pen. Treatments consisted of 0, 0.4, 1.2, or 2.0 mg of supplemental Cr per head per day (per head d^–1) from CrPro. After birth, the goat kids were allowed to suckle until 21 d. At 21-d-old, one male goat kid per replicate was sacrificed 2 h after LPS injection. Individual weight and litter weight of goat kids at birth and 21 d were not affected by maternal Cr supplementation. Chromium concentrations in umbilical cord, colostrum and liver of goat kids were linearly increased by maternal Cr supplementation (P<0.05). Maternal Cr supplementation quadratically increased serum total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity of goat kids (P<0.05). Goat kids from maternal Cr supplementation groups had higher serum T-SOD activity than those from the control group (P<0.05). Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration of goat kids was linearly decreased, whereas serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity was linearly increased as maternal Cr increased (P<0.05). Maternal Cr supplementation linearly increased colostrum immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) concentrations (P<0.05), and quadratically increased serum IgG and IgM concentrations of goat kids with the greatest response detected at 0.4 mg per head d^–1 maternal Cr supplementation group (P<0.05). The villus height (VH) and the ratio of VH to crypt depth (CD) (V/C) in the duodenum of goat kids increased quadratically as maternal Cr increased, and both reached the highest values in the 1.2 mg per head d^–1 maternal Cr supplementation group. Maternal Cr supplementation linearly decreased ileal CD of goat kids. The results indicate that 0.4–2.0 mg (0.47–2.41 mg by analysis) per head d^–1 maternal Cr supplementation from CrPro could improve antioxidant capacity, immune response, and small intestinal morphology of goat kids injected with LPS.