The current contribution reviews absorption and metabolism of copper (Cu), Cu deficiency, Cu toxicity, Cu bioavailability, and effects of pharmacological levels of Cu on growth performance and intestinal health of pigs. Copper is a micro mineral involved in metabolic reactions including cellular respiration, tissue pigmentation, hemoglobin formation, and connective tissue development. Copper is mostly absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract, particularly in the duodenum, but some Cu is absorbed in the stomach. One way to evaluate the efficacy of sources of Cu is to measure relative bioavailability where responses include tissue concentrations of Cu, concentrations of metalloproteins, and enzymatic activity of animals fed test diets containing graded levels of Cu. The requirement for Cu by pigs is 5 to 10 mg/kg diet, however, Cu can be included at growth-promoting levels (i.e., 75 to 250 mg/kg diet) in diets for weanling and growing pigs to reduce post-weaning diarrhea and improve growth performance. The consistently observed improvement in growth performance upon Cu supplementation is likely a result of increases in lipase activity, growth hormone secretion, and expression of genes involved in post-absorptive metabolism of lipids. The growth-promoting effects of dietary Cu have also been attributed to its bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties because Cu may change bacterial populations in the intestine, and thereby reduce inflammation caused by pathogens. However, further research is needed to determine potential interactions between Cu and non-nutritive feed additives (e.g., enzymes, probiotics, phytobiotics), and the optimum quantity of Cu as well as the optimum duration of feeding supplemental Cu in diets for pigs should be further investigated. These gaps needs to be addressed to maximize inclusion of Cu in diets to improve growth performance while minimizing diseases and mortality.

中文翻译：

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猪日粮中铜的消化率和代谢以及日粮铜对生长性能、肠道健康和整体免疫状态的影响：综述

当前的贡献回顾了铜 (Cu) 的吸收和代谢、铜缺乏、铜毒性、铜生物利用度以及铜药理水平对猪生长性能和肠道健康的影响。铜是一种微量矿物质，参与细胞呼吸、组织色素沉着、血红蛋白形成和结缔组织发育等代谢反应。铜大部分在上胃肠道吸收，特别是十二指肠，但也有一些铜在胃中吸收。评估铜源功效的一种方法是测量相对生物利用度，其中反应包括铜的组织浓度、金属蛋白浓度以及饲喂含有分级铜水平的测试饮食的动物的酶活性。猪对铜的需求量为 5 至 10 毫克/公斤日粮，但是，可以在断奶仔猪和生长猪的日粮中添加促生长水平的铜（即 75 至 250 毫克/公斤日粮），以减少断奶后腹泻并提高增长绩效。持续观察到补充铜后生长性能的改善可能是由于脂肪酶活性、生长激素分泌以及参与脂质吸收后代谢的基因表达增加的结果。膳食铜的促进生长作用也归因于其抑菌和杀菌特性，因为铜可以改变肠道内的细菌种群，从而减少病原体引起的炎症。然而，需要进一步的研究来确定铜与非营养性饲料添加剂（例如酶、益生菌、植物生素）之间的潜在相互作用，并且应确定猪日粮中铜的最佳添加量以及添加铜的最佳持续时间。进一步调查。需要解决这些差距，以最大限度地在日粮中添加铜，以提高生长性能，同时最大限度地减少疾病和死亡率。