Dietary Supplementation With Chinese Herbal Residues or Their Fermented Products Modifies the Colonic Microbiota, Bacterial Metabolites, and Expression of Genes Related to Colon Barrier Function in Weaned Piglets

Abstract

To explore the feasibility of dietary Chinese herbal residue (CHR) supplementation in swine production with the objective of valorization, we examined the effects of dietary supplementation with CHR or fermented CHR products on the colonic ecosystem (i.e., microbiota composition, luminal bacterial metabolites, and expression of genes related to the intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets). We randomly assigned 120 piglets to one of four dietary treatment groups: a blank control group, CHR group (dose of supplement 4 kg/t), fermented CHR group (dose of supplement 4 kg/t), and a positive control group (supplemented with 0.04 kg/t virginiamycin, 0.2 kg/t colistin, and 3000 mg/kg zinc 0.04 kg/t virginiamycin, 0.2 kg/t colistin, and 3000 mg/kg zinc oxide). Our results indicate that dietary supplementation with CHR increased (P < 0.05) the mRNA level corresponding to E-cadherin compared with that observed in the other three groups, increased (P < 0.05) the mRNA level corresponding to zonula occludens-1, and decreased (P < 0.05) the quantity of Bifidobacterium spp. When compared with the blank control group. Dietary supplementation with fermented CHR decreased (P < 0.05) the concentration of indole when compared to the positive control group; increased (P < 0.05) the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids compared with the values measured in the CHR group, as well as the mRNA levels corresponding to interleukin 1 alpha, interleukin 2, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. However, supplementation with fermented CHR decreased (P < 0.05) interleukin 12 levels when compared with the blank control group. Collectively, these findings suggest that dietary supplementation with CHR or fermented CHR modifies the gut environment of weaned piglets.

Dietary supplementation with Bacillus subtilis DSM 32315 alters the intestinal microbiota and metabolites in weaned piglets

“…Consistent with previous studies on pigs (Kim et al 2012;Hu et al 2016;Su et al 2018;Xu et al 2018), Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria are the main dominant phyla in the present study. Several studies showed that the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio was positively correlated with the increased ADG (Crisol-Mart ınez et al 2017; Han et al 2017).…”

“…2016; Su et al . 2018; Xu et al . 2018), Firmicutes , Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria are the main dominant phyla in the present study.…”

Effects of Fermented Herbal Tea Residues on the Intestinal Microbiota Characteristics of Holstein Heifers Under Heat Stress

“…HTRs can also be used as composting materials to enhance soil fertility because of their high content of organic matter and nitrogen (Iqbal Khan et al, 2007). Moreover, some studies have shown that tea residues, because of their high content of polysaccharides and alkaloids, could be used as feed additives to improve the meat quality of goats (Zhong et al, 2009), change the gut environment of weaned piglets (Su et al, 2018), and improve the immune function in dairy cows under heat stress conditions (Shan et al, 2018). However, HTRs may be difficult to store, digest, and absorb because of their high content of moisture and fiber.…”

Dietary supplementation with Bacillus mixture modifies the intestinal ecosystem of weaned piglets in an overall beneficial way

“…Gene expression was determined by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR), as described by (Su et al . 2018). Briefly, total RNA was isolated from colonic tissues using TRIzol (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) and reverse transcribed with a Prime Script RT Reagent Kit with gDNA Eraser (Takara, Dalian, China).…”