How antimicrobial plant extracts can affect the in vitro cell-mediated response in free-range Mangalitsa pigs

Summary

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 37°C, 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, λ = 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.
Keywords: Mangalitsa, low input, adaptive immune response, plant extracts