Dietary Supplementation with Compound Probiotics and Berberine Alters Piglet Production Performance and Fecal Microbiota

Abstract

Simple Summary: In order to find antibiotic substitutes for weaned piglet health and growth, compound probiotics and berberine (CPB) were selected in this study. The results indicated that CPB could replace antibiotics to improve piglet health and decrease mortality, diarrhea and rejection rates. CPB was also able to regulate fecal microbiota as well as improve protein digestibility and serum biochemical parameters. Therefore, CPB might be a good antibiotic alternative in piglet production performance.Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with compound probiotics and berberine (CPB) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and fecal microflora in weaned piglets. A total of 200 piglets 35 days old were randomly allocated to 5 groups, 4 replications in each group, and 10 piglets in each replication. Group A was the basal diet; group B was supplemented with antibiotics and zinc oxide; groups C, D and E were supplemented with 0.06%, 0.12% and 0.18% CPB, respectively. The experimental period was 42 d. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion rate (FCR) among five groups (p > 0.05). However, mortality, diarrhea and rejection rates in the control group were higher than that in other groups. CPB could increase protein digestibility and serum IgG content (p < 0.05), while it could decrease serum urea nitrogen content and alkaline phosphatase activity (p < 0.05). Analysis of fecal microbiota showed that the relative abundances of Bacteroides and Firmicutes were increased, while the relative abundances of opportunistic pathogens such as Spirochaetae and Protebactreria were dramatically decreased in piglets fed with CPB or antibiotics, compared with the control group. Furthermore, CPB intervention increased the relative abundances of Prevotella_9, Megasphaera and Prevotella_2, while decreased the relative abundance of Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group. Correlation analysis revealed that there was good correlation between serum indexes and fecal microbiota. It was suggested that CPB might be a promising antibiotic alternative for improving piglet health and immunity, decreasing mortality by positively altering gut microbiota.

Evolution of Pig Fecal Microbiota Composition and Diversity in Response to Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Infection and Colistin Treatment in Weaned Piglets

“…In the current study, before the oral challenge, the bacterial communities observed in the fecal microbiota of clinically healthy weaned piglets belonged predominantly to the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phylum. Similar to our findings, several previous studies reported that Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the two dominant phyla in the fecal microbiota of piglets during the post weaning period [37][38][39][40][41], representing more than 90% of the fecal bacterial community at this stage of a piglet's life [13]. Additionally, in the present study, the fecal microbiota of clinically healthy piglets, before the ETEC: F4 oral challenge, had high abundance of Lactobacillaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Prevotellaceae; these results also corroborate previous studies [42,43].…”

Effects of the Probiotic, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, as a Substitute for Antibiotics on the Gastrointestinal Tract Microbiota and Metabolomics Profile of Female Growing-Finishing Pigs

“…in the human mouth [ 58 ]. Similar to Xu et al, the abundance of Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group was substantially decreased in pigs administered compound probiotic diets [ 59 ]. Treponema_2 and Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group are Gram-negative bacteria [ 60 ] and can produce lipopolysaccharides [ 61 ].…”

Dietary berberine supplementation improves growth performance and alleviates gut injury in weaned piglets by modulating ileal microbiota and metabolites

“…55 Another study also supported our results that the relative abundances of opportunistic pathogens ( Spirochaetae and Protebactreria ) were dramatically decreased in the feces of piglets fed with compound probiotics and BBR. 34 Further Spearman correlation analysis showed that unidentified Clostridiales in the ileum was negatively associated with the villus height, but positively associated with diarrhea, IL-1β and TNF-α concentrations. The ADG was positively associated with the relative abundance of Weissella at the genus level.…”