Colostrum ingestion during the first 24 h significantly
affected both mucosal and systemic immune status in
piglets around weaning. The concentration of fecal IgA
in the CoF group was significantly higher than that
in the CoD group at 21 days of age (Fig. 1). The postnatal
dynamics of fecal IgA concentration shown by
Thompson et al. (2008) implied that a majority of
intestinal IgA derived from colostrum disappears during
the first 7 days of life. Therefore, intestinal IgA
around weaning is likely synthesized and produced
by piglets themselves, rather than ingested as colostral
IgA.