Global trends for animal production have seen a decrease in the use of antimicrobial compounds in feed, generating the need to implement new nutritional strategies that stimulate growth and promote intestinal health. This study aimed to determine whether the addition of E. faecium in drinking water improves intestinal morphometric parameters in post- weaning pigs compared with the probiotics strains L. acidophilus and L. casei on days 1 (21 days of age), 15 and 30 postweaning. The small intestine was completely removed to evaluate the morphometric parameters (length and width of villi and crypts) in the different intestinal segments (duodenum, jejunum, and ileum). They were fed for 30 days with two diets: commercial diet with or without antibiotics. The different probiotics, L. acidophillus, L. casei and E. faecium, were administered in the drinking water of the animals that consumed the commercial diet without antibiotics. A randomized block design in split-plot arrangement was used. There was a significant increase (P<0.01) in the width and length of villi, and a decrease (P<0.01) in the values obtained for the width and depth of crypts in the animals that consumed E .faecium, as compared to those that consumed the diet with addition of antibiotics. The use of probiotics, especially E. faecium, is a nutritional treatment strategy when antimicrobial compound are used, improving the intestinal morphometric parameters and, at the same time, the digestive and productive parameters of the animals. Work is in progress to investigate the effects of probiotic supplementation on the mofication of gut microbiota of post-weaning piglets.
Pigs are exposed to different types of stress. The growth-promoting antibiotics (GPA) used to counteract this stress generate residues in the final product and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms to the environment and humans. As an alternative to GPA, probiotic bacteria have been used to provide health benefits to these animals. This study aimed to determine the comparitive effect of probiotic strain addition on digestive organ growth and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs. Eighty piglets weaned at 21 days were fed two diets: a commercial diet with and without antibiotic added. Different probiotics were added to the drinking water for pigs fed the antibiotic-free diets (Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus or Enterococcus faecium). Thirty-five piglets were slaughtered sequentially at days 1, 15 and 30 post-weaning, and their digestive organs were extracted. Feces were also sampled by rectal collection at days 15, 30 and 45 post-weaning, in order to estimate apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients (indigestible marker). A significant increase was observed in the weight and development of digestive organs and in the nutrient digestibility percentages, especially for calcium and phosphorus, when comparing the animals that consumed E. faecium with those that consumed antibiotic. The addition of probiotic strains (especially E. faecium) can be considered as an alternative to the use of GPA when these strains are administered in pig diets during critical stages of their growth (post-weaning), since they improve the digestibility of economically and environmentally important nutrients including calcium and phosphorus, thus decreasing their release into the environment.
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