{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T06:45:01Z","timestamp":1790145901284,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,1]],"date-time":"2026-03-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772323200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Nutribins LLC"},{"name":"U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s National Institute of Food and Agriculture","award":["#7007665"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["#7007665"]}]},{"name":"Georgia Research Foundation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study evaluated the effects of dietary 25-hydroxycholecalciferol alone or in combination with vitamin D3 (VD3) on growth performance, vitamin D status, immune parameters, bone integrity, and antioxidant capacity in nursery pigs. Sixty weanling piglets (5.63 \u00b1 0.98 kg initial body weight) were assigned to three treatments for a 28 d feeding trial. The treatments were a basal diet supplemented with 2000 IU\/kg VD3, a combination of 1000 IU\/kg VD3 and 1000 IU\/kg 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHD3), and 2000 IU\/kg 25-OHD3. Pigs fed diets containing 25-OHD3 tended to have greater feed intake during d 14\u201328 (p = 0.06). Plasma 25-OHD3 concentrations were greater in pigs fed diets containing 25-OHD3 than in those fed VD3 alone on d 14 and 28 (p &lt; 0.05), with greater values observed in pigs fed 2000 IU\/kg 25-OHD3 than in those fed a combination of 1000 IU\/kg VD3 and 1000 IU\/kg 25-OHD3 on d 14 (p &lt; 0.05). Pigs fed diets supplemented with 25-OHD3 had lower plasma malondialdehyde concentrations at d 28 (p &lt; 0.05), while immune parameters and bone mineralization indicators were unaffected. In the broken-line analysis, the estimated plasma 25-OHD3 concentration for plasma malondialdehyde concentrations to reach the minimum level was 32.5 ng\/mL (p &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, supplementing 25-OHD3 in nursery diets improved blood vitamin D status and could help reduce oxidative stress during the late nursery period.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16050771","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T16:18:45Z","timestamp":1772554725000},"page":"771","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effects of Dietary 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol Alone or in Combination with Vitamin D3 on Growth Performance, Blood Vitamin D Status, Immune Response, Bone Integrity, and Antioxidant Capacity of Nursery Pigs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1697-4435","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chan Ho","family":"Kwon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eva S.","family":"Safaie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jannell A.","family":"Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2435-0756","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhaohui","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nutribins LLC, Covina, CA 91723, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nutribins LLC, Covina, CA 91723, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pengcheng","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nutribins LLC, Covina, CA 91723, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8403-1231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Young Dal","family":"Jang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4895","DOI":"10.1093\/jas\/skz347","article-title":"Impact of dietary vitamin D3 supplements in nursery diets on subsequent growth and bone responses of pigs during an immune challenge","volume":"97","author":"McCue","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. 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