Effect of probiotic strain addition on digestive organ growth and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs

Abstract

Pigs are exposed to different types of stress. The growth-promoting antibiotics (GPA) used to counteract this stress generate residues in the final product and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms to the environment and humans. As an alternative to GPA, probiotic bacteria have been used to provide health benefits to these animals. This study aimed to determine the comparitive effect of probiotic strain addition on digestive organ growth and nutrient digestibility in growing pigs. Eighty piglets weaned at 21 days were fed two diets: a commercial diet with and without antibiotic added. Different probiotics were added to the drinking water for pigs fed the antibiotic-free diets (Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus or Enterococcus faecium). Thirty-five piglets were slaughtered sequentially at days 1, 15 and 30 post-weaning, and their digestive organs were extracted. Feces were also sampled by rectal collection at days 15, 30 and 45 post-weaning, in order to estimate apparent nutrient digestibility coefficients (indigestible marker). A significant increase was observed in the weight and development of digestive organs and in the nutrient digestibility percentages, especially for calcium and phosphorus, when comparing the animals that consumed E. faecium with those that consumed antibiotic. The addition of probiotic strains (especially E. faecium) can be considered as an alternative to the use of GPA when these strains are administered in pig diets during critical stages of their growth (post-weaning), since they improve the digestibility of economically and environmentally important nutrients including calcium and phosphorus, thus decreasing their release into the environment.

The growth and apparent digestibility of white shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei, are increased with the probiotic,Bacillus subtilis

“…This evidence can explain why the feed utilization efficiency was improved by dietary supplementation with B. subtilis E20 in this study.Supplementation with a probiotic was reported to improve the apparent nutrient digestibility in pigs(Chen et al, 2005;Pérez, Lallès, & Suescún, 2016) Pérez et al (2016). demonstrated significant increases in weight, development of digestive organs, and nutrient digestibility of pigs fed with a diet containing a probiotic compared to pigs that consumed antibiotics and control diets.…”

El comportamiento bioproductivo de cerdas reproductoras y su descendencia alimentadas con aditivo probiótico

“…Por su parte, Ihara et al (2013) informaron mejorar la digestibilidad, la producción de vitaminas del complejo B y cofactores de crecimiento en cerdos. efectos positivos sobre el comportamiento productivo y la salud de los lechones al suplementar probiótico en la dieta (Londoño et al, 2016). En la Tabla 4, se aprecia las características morfotintoriales de los microorganismos aislados a partir del hisopado rectal de las cerdas madres que consumieron los preparados microbianos, en la evaluación realizada al destete y a los 15 días posteriores a la suspensión del probiótico.…”

“…Unido a esto, Zhao et al (2015) manifiestan, que los microorganismos vivos introducidos buscan un nicho adecuado donde compiten e interaccionan entre sí, constituyendo finalmente una población relativamente estable y compleja en la microbiota natural del hospedero, no obstante, esta estabilidad puede ser alterada por cambios dietéticos o ambientales que son sometidos los animales (Londoño et al, 2016). Sin embargo, es limitada la información sobre las funciones que desempeñan en el metabolismo de nutrientes y el tiempo de permanencia en el tracto gastrointestinal de los animales (Patil et al, 2015).…”

“…Los exámenes microbiológicos como el hisopado rectal en los lechones, ayudan a evaluar el nivel de microorganismos presentes a este nivel (Londoño et al, 2016). La cantidad de muestras crecidas en medios específicos a partir de hisopado rectal de las muestras provenientes de los lechones que consumieron probiótico hasta 70 días de edad, fue superior a los reportados por Cottney et al (2012).…”

Metabolitos sanguíneos y parámetros zootécnicos en lechones destetados a dos edades y con adición de antimicrobianos en el alimento

“…El intestino representa un ecosistema microbiano dinámico en el que los microorganismos del intestino (microbiota) tienen funciones metabólicas y protectoras específicas (Dhruw et al, 2015). En la primera semana después del destete se presentan drásticas disminuciones en las poblaciones microbianas benéficas intestinales (principalmente Lactobacillus spp y Streptococcus spp) e incrementos en el número de bacterias patógenas, especialmente coliformes (mayormente E. coli) (Londoño et al, 2016).…”