Administration of Saccharomyces boulardii mafic-1701 improves growth performance, promotes antioxidant capacity, alleviates intestinal inflammation and modulates gut microbiota in weaned piglets

Abstract

Background: Probiotics seem to be an alternative to antibiotics for improving animal's health and intestinal development. Saccharomyces boulardii ( S. boulardii ) is a well-known probiotic. However, only few studies have been performed examining the effects of S. boulardii on weaned piglets . Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary S. boulardii mafic-1701 on growth performance, antioxidant parameters, inflammation and intestinal microbiota in weaned piglets, using aureomycin as positive control. One hundred and eight piglets were randomly divided into three dietary treatment groups: (1) basal diet (CON); (2) basal diet supplemented with 75 mg/kg aureomycin (ANT); (3) basal diet supplemented with 1 × 10 8 CFU/kg S. boulardii mafic-1701 (SB). Results: Compared to CON, the supplementation with S. boulardii mafic-1701 improved feed efficiency over the entire 28 days ( P < 0.01) and decreased the rate of diarrhea during the first week ( P < 0.05). Total superoxide dismutase concentration was markedly increased in piglets with S. boulardii mafic-1701 ( P < 0.01). Moreover, compared with CON, SB increased the concentration of interleukin-4 in ileum ( P < 0.05), while the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 ( P < 0.01) and tumor necrosis factor ( P < 0.01) were decreased in jejunum. SB increased the abundance of Bacillus and Ruminococcaceae ( P < 0.05), whereas the population of Clostridiaceae were decreased ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, the analysis of microbiota metabolites showed that S. boulardii mafic-1701 administration increased the concentration of formate and isobutyrate in cecum to maintain a stable microbiota and gut health ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated that S. boulardii mafic-1701 supplementation could improve growth performance, alleviate the severity of diarrhea in weaned piglets, which may be associated with S. boulardii mafic-1701 promoted antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory responses and microbi al ecology of piglets.