Effect of Functional Oils or Probiotics on Performance and Microbiota Profile of Newly Weaned Piglets

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate a commercial blend of functional oils based on liquid from the cashew nutshell and castor oil as a growth promoter in newly weaned piglets. A total of 225 piglets, castrated males and females with 28 days of age were randomly distributed in pens with 15 animals composing three treatments and five repetitions. The treatments were: control (without the inclusion of additive), probiotics, or functional oils. The performance was evaluated. At 50 days of age, a pool of fresh feces from 3 animals/repetition was collected to perform the sequencing of microbiota using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Supplementation with functional oils improved the piglets' daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05) in the first weeks of the experiment, which resulted in higher final live weight (P < 0.05) in the phase when compared to the control treatment. The animals that received probiotics showed intermediate performance. Both additives were effective in modulating groups central to intestinal health, such as Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. The functional oils were more effective in reducing pathogenic bacteria, such as Campylobacter and Escherichia coli. In conclusion, the use of functional oils optimized performance and effectively modulated the microbiota of newly weaned piglets.

Use of Probiotics in Swine Nutrition: A Review

“…The use of Probiotic in the weaned causes gain in live body weight gain in comparison to the control group. (Vieira et al, 2021) [39] . The Saccharomyces probiotic supplemented in the nursing piglets cause increase daily average daily gain (ADG), promote the beta diversity and the colonization of the Erysipelato, clostridium and Christensenella in the Probiotic supplemented nursing piglets.…”

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“…The mechanisms of action of CNSLcastor oil have not been fully elucidated. However, in the face of the challenge caused by coccidiosis, CNSL-Castor oil acts as an immunomodulator [27] and modulator of the intestinal microbiota [28]. CNSL-Castor oil helps maintain the animal's immune systems, eliminate parasites, maintain intestinal balance, and improve animal performance [8,28,29].…”

“…This fact was also observed in this study, as there was a reduction in Proteobacteria at 28 d-that is, 14 d after the challenge-compared with that in the control treatment. Previous studies have demonstrated that CNSL-castor oil reduces the abundance of Proteobacteria at times of stress in different animals, whether under coccidiosis in chickens [9] or at weaning in pigs [28]. Conversely, [42] it has been observed that monensin supplementation produced a greater relative abundance of gram-negative bacteria of the phylum Proteobacteria and class Clostridia.…”