This study was to illustrate the effects of fructooligosaccharide (FOS) on the antioxidant capacity, intestinal barrier function, and microbial community of weanling pigs. Results showed that FOS reduced the incidence of diarrhea (6.5 vs. 10.8%) of pigs (p < 0.05) but did not affect growth performance when compared with the control group. A diet supplemented with FOS increased ileal mRNA expression of occludin (1.7 vs. 1.0), claudin-1 (1.9 vs. 1.0), claudin-2 (1.8 vs. 1.0), and claudin-4 (1.7 vs. 1.0), as well as colonic mRNA expression of ZO-1 (1.6 vs. 1.0), claudin-1 (1.7 vs. 1.0), occludin (1.9 vs. 1.0), and pBD-1 (1.5 vs. 1.0) when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). FOS supplementation improved the anti-oxidase activity and expression of nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2), and decreased concentrations of D-lactate (3.05 U/L vs. 2.83 U/L) and TNF-α (59.1 pg/mL vs. 48.0 pg/mL) in the serum when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, FOS increased Sharpea, Megasphaera, and Bacillus populations in the gut when compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Association analysis indicated that mRNA expression of occludin and claudin-1 in the ileal mucosa were correlated positively with populations of Sharpea and Bacillus (p < 0.05). Furthermore, mRNA expression of occludin and claudin-1 in the colonic mucosa were correlated positively with abundances of Sharpea, Lactobocillus, and Bifidobacterium (p < 0.05). In conclusion, FOS activated Nrf2 signaling and increased the expression of specific tight junction proteins, which were associated with reduced diarrhea incidence.

The compartment niche is the main reason behind the shifts in endophytic bacterial communities. Long‐term organic greenhouse exerted limited influence on the variations of endophytic bacterial communities. Organic greenhouse and root had more complex co‐occurrence networks than conventional greenhouse and stem, respectively. Cultivable method results found that Protecbacteria, Bacteriodes, and Actinobacteria are the dominant phyla in the endophytes.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25(OH)VD₃) and Vitamin D₃ (VD₃) supplemented in the diet of weaned piglets on their growth performance, bone quality, intestinal integrity, immune function and antioxidant capacity. A total of 192 weaned piglets were allocated into four groups and they were fed a control diet containing 2000 IU VD₃ (negative control, NC), NC + 100 ppm colistin sulfate (positive control, PC), NC + 2000 IU VD₃ (VD₃) and NC + 2000 IU 25(OH)VD₃ (25(OH)VD₃)_. The results showed that 25(OH)VD₃ improved the growth performance, bone quality and antioxidase activity of piglets compared with the other groups. Meanwhile, 25(OH)VD₃ up-regulated ileal mRNA expressions of tight junction proteins and host defense peptides. The VD₃ group had an increased intestinal sIgA content and mRNA expression of pBD-1 compared with the NC group. Both groups of VD₃ and 25(OH)VD₃ altered the microbial β-diversity compared with the NC group, and 25(OH)VD₃ increased ileal concentrations of acetate and butyrate. In conclusion, our findings indicated that a regular dosage of 2000 IU VD₃ in the weaned piglets’ diet did not achieve optimal antioxidant capacity and immune function. 25(OH)VD₃ had better growth performance than VD₃ at the same inclusion level, which is associated with the improved intestinal integrity and antioxidant capacity.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different SDF to IDF ratios on growth performance, serum indexes and fecal microbial community in pigs. Weaned and growing-finishing pigs were fed a diet containing five different ratios of SDF to IDF from 1:5 to 1:9 and from 1:3 to 1:7, respectively. Results showed a linear tendency that average daily gain (ADG) of weaned pigs decreased but the feed intake to weight gain ratio (F/G) increased as the ratio of SDF to IDF increased from 1:5 to 1:9 (p = 0.06). The ADG of growing-finishing pigs showed quadratic changes (p < 0.05) as ratios of SDF to IDF increased from 1:3 to 1:7. The Shannon index of fecal microbial diversity increased first and then decreased as the SDF to IDF ratio increased from 1:5 to 1:9 (p < 0.05). The Shannon and Chao indexes of fecal microbial diversity in growing-finishing pigs showed significant incremental linearly as the SDF to IDF ratio increased from 1:3 to 1:7 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the recommended inclusion ratios of SDF to IDF in weaned and growing-finishing pigs diets are 1:7 and 1:5.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of adaptation time and inclusion level of sugar beet pulp (SBP) on nutrient digestibility and to evaluate the ileal AA digestibility of SBP fed to pigs. In Exp. 1, thirty-six crossbred barrows (85.0 ± 2.1 kg) were allotted to 6 diets in a completely randomized design with six replicates per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean meal diet and 5 test diets containing 14.6, 24.4, 34.2, 43.9, or 53.7% SBP, respectively. The adaptation time consisted 7, 14, 21, or 28 d consecutively for each pig followed by 5 d for fecal collection. Feces were collected from d 8 to 13, d 15 to 20, d 22 to 27, and d 29 to 34, respectively. In Exp. 2, six pigs (35.1 ± 1.7 kg) with T-cannulas at the terminal ileum were fed to 3 diets in a replicated 3×3 Latin square design with 3 periods and 2 replicate pigs per diet. Each period consisted 5 d for diet adaptation followed by 2 d for digesta collection. The DE value and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of GE, DM, ash, and OM in diets linearly decreased (p<0.05) as the adaptation time increased or as the dietary SBP increased, while the ATTD of NDF and ADF in diets linearly increased (p<0.01) as the dietary SBP increased. The DE value and the ATTD of GE and CP in SBP linearly increased (p<0.05) as the adaptation time increased, while the ATTD of CP in SBP linearly decreased (p<0.01) as the inclusion level increased. The SID of Lys, Met, Thr, and Trp in SBP was 37.03, 51.62, 40.68, and 46.22%, respectively. The results of this study indicated that the ATTD of energy and nutrients were decreased as inclusion rate of SBP increased.

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of extrusion on available energy, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and energy, and amino acid (AA) digestibility of full-fat rice bran (FFRB) and corn distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) fed to growing pigs. Methods: In Exp. 1, a total of 30 growing pigs with initial body weight (BW) of 36.0 ± 1.8 kg were fed five different diets, including one corn basal diet and four experimental diets which were formulated by 29.06% FFRB or DDGS with or without extrusion processing. In Exp. 2, 30 ileal-cannulated pigs (initial BW: 20.3 ± 1.8 kg) were fed five different diets including 40% FFRB or DDGS with or without extrusion, and a N-free diet. Results: The results showed that there were no significant differences in DE and ME contents or ATTD of GE, DM, and OM between DDGS and FFRB (p > 0.05), but the ATTD of CP, NDF, and ADF showed significant differences between DDGS and FFRB (p < 0.05). In addition, the DE and ME values (p < 0.01) and ATTD of GE, DM, OM, and NDF improved when pigs were fed extruded diets (p < 0.05), and a trend to increase the ATTD of CP and ADF was observed when pigs were fed extruded diets (p = 0.06 and 0.07, respectively). The AID and SID levels of CP were not different when pigs were fed diets with or without extrusion. The AID of total indispensable AA increased when pigs were fed extrusion diets (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Feed processing of extrusion could improve nutritive values of FFRB and DDGS.