ABSTRACT: Intensive farming systems represent a stressful environment for pigs and negatively influence neuroendocrine functions, behavior, and performance. Outdoor farming is an alternative option, which is thought to imply several beneficial effects for the animal. Dietary essential oils are known to be an innovative strategy to improve pig health and performance, and oregano essential oil (ORE) possesses beneficial effects due to its antimicrobial, anti-fungal, and antioxidant properties. We tested the effect of dietary ORE on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in 36 growing pigs, either reared under indoor or outdoor conditions. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) assay was used to evaluate the effect of diet (control vs. ORE) and the time of sampling (T1-120 days vs. T2-190 days) on the expression of inflammatory and immune-related genes (TNF, IL1?, IL8, IL18, IL10, IL1RN, STAT3, HSP90, ICAM-1, and NFKB1). Under outdoor condition, the majority of transcripts were upregulated (p < 0.05), assuming a general inflammatory status (TNF, HSP90, NFKB1, IL1?, and STAT3). However, an interaction between diet and the farming system was observed: HSP90, NFKB1, and STAT3 were downregulated (p < 0.05) in the outdoor reared pigs when fed the ORE diet. Our study showed that bioactive compounds of ORE exert their activity, especially when the animals are exposed to stressful stimuli. Dietary ORE can be an acceptable strategy to help pigs tolerate the stress related to the harsh, outdoor, rearing conditions.
