Dietary Organic Acids Modulate Gut Microbiota and Improve Growth Performance of Nursery Pigs

Abstract

Feed additives have been suggested to improve animal growth performance through modulating the gut microbiota. The hypothesis of this study was that the combination of two organic acids would exert synergistic effects on the growth performance and gut microbiota of weaning pigs. To test this hypothesis, we followed 398 weaning pigs from two university experiment stations (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and University of Arkansas (UA)) to determine the effects of increasing levels (0%, 0.035%, 0.070%, and 0.105%) of sodium butyrate combined with 0.5% benzoic acid on the growth performance of nursery pigs. At the UA, an additional negative control diet was included and the gut microbiota analysis was carried out. At both universities, increasing levels of sodium butyrate in a diet containing 0.5% benzoic acid improved growth performance, which reached a plateau in the pigs fed 0.035% (SBA0.035) or 0.070% (SBA0.070) butyrate. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that pigs fed the SBA0.035 diet had more diverse microbiota and contained more potentially beneficial bacteria such as Oscillospira, Blautia, and Turicibacter and reduced levels of Veillonella and Sarcina. Results of the present study indicated that the inclusion of sodium butyrate at moderate levels in a diet containing 0.5% benzoic acid improved growth performance of weaning pigs and established potential health benefits on gut microbiota.

Weaning Induced Gut Dysfunction and Nutritional Interventions in Nursery Pigs: A Partial Review

“…Within a short period of time, the gut microbiota must develop and learn to adapt to the new nutrient source. A study by Wei et al found that the relative abundance of Prevotella increased dramatically and rapidly after introducing solid plant-based feed: from 8.9% on the day of weaning to 17.6% on day 7 post-weaning [15]. The relative abundance of Prevotella is closely related to the consumption of plant polysaccharides and is enriched by plant polysaccharides [37].…”

“…The relative abundance of Prevotella is closely related to the consumption of plant polysaccharides and is enriched by plant polysaccharides [37]. Similarly, Megasphaera and Blautia, which are involved in carbohydrate digestion, also increased during the post-weaning period [15]. These bacterial changes will impact others and affect the entire gut ecosystem.…”

“…With the advent of next-generation sequencing, the characteristics of the swine gut microbiota have become clear. In general, the swine intestinal microbiota is predominated by two phyla, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, followed by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Spirochaetes, among others [15,16]. This general profile is relatively stable, although variations exhibit below the phylum level when the gut microbiota is disturbed.…”

“…[155]. A recent study by Wei et al conducted in weaning pigs indicated that pigs fed an organic acid mixture had more diverse microbiota and produced more potential beneficial bacteria such as Turicibacter, Blautia, and Oscillospira and decreased proportions of Sarcina and Veillonella, which are linked to various inflammatory diseases [15].…”

“…Due to the ban on antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed, nutritional strategies have been applied to minimize the adverse effects of weaning stress. Accumulating evidence suggests that the benefits of certain feed additives on animal growth performance are partially through gut microbiota modulation [14][15][16]. Nowadays, the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology provides insight into the diverse and complex gut microbiota, which remarkably expanded our knowledge regarding how the entire gut microbiota evolves under the influence of feed additives.…”