Weaning stress in piglets can lead to poor health outcomes and reduced production. We investigated the effects of probiotics, one potential antibiotic alternative, on the growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, intestinal morphology, mucosal immunity, hypothalamic neurotransmitters, and colonic microflora in weaned piglets. Thirty-six weaned piglets were fed a basal diet, a diet supplemented with colistin sulphate antibiotic, or a diet supplemented with probiotics including Clostridium butyricum, Bacillus subtilis, and B. licheniformis. Probiotics significantly increased the feed : gain ratio, improved the average day gain from day 1 to day 28, and decreased the diarrhoea index. Probiotics also lowered the serum concentrations of AST, ALT, and ALP on day 14 and lowered the serum concentration of ALT on day 28 compared with the control. Probiotic supplementation caused fewer ileal apoptotic cells. The serum and ileal concentrations of TNF-α and IL-1β on day 28 were significantly lowered, and the serum concentrations of IL-6 were significantly lowered on days 14 and 28. Probiotic-fed piglets exhibited higher contents of hypothalamic serotonin and dopamine as well as serum γ-aminobutyric acid along with higher colonic concentrations of butyrate and valerate on day 28. High-throughput sequencing showed 972 core operational taxonomic units among all groups, of which 48 were unique to the probiotic-treated group. The relative abundance of genus Bacillus and species Bacillus velezensis was enriched in probiotic piglets; the phylogenetic investigation of communities by the reconstruction of unobserved states indicated that amino acid metabolism, DNA repair, replication and recombination proteins, and secretion systems were enriched with probiotics. In conclusion, the Clostridium butyricum-based probiotics improved growth performance, enhanced intestinal morphology, changed hypothalamic neurotransmitters and modulated colonic microflora in weaned piglets.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is one important family of growth factors, which plays key role in intestinal growth, regeneration, and damage repair. However, the low natural abundance of IGF-I limits its research opportunities and practical application in the fields of medicine and animal husbandry. In this study, a tandem repeat strategy was used to express three copies of the same pIGF-I3 protein in L. lactis. The activity of recombinant pIGF-I3 (rpIGF-I3) was further examined by a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)–induced colitis. In addition, the potential of recombinant L. lactis expressing pIGF-I3 to reduce inflammatory disease was evaluated. pIGF-I3 could be expressed in L. lactis by the detection of SDS–PAGE and Western blot. Experimental colitis was induced in BALB/c mice by administration of 5 % DSS in drinking water, and the clinical symptoms were observed in DSS-treated mice. Oral administration of recombinant L. lactis expressing pIGF-I3 improved the colonic architecture, and significantly reduced the increase of colonic damage score (P < 0.05). Furthermore, recombinant L. lactis expressing pIGF-I3 treatment significantly reduced serum DAO activity and colonic MPO level, and elevated colonic occludin level compared to the DSS group (P < 0.05). The pIGF-I3 expressed in L. lactis has good biological activity, and oral administration of recombinant L. lactis expressing pIGF-I3 attenuated the symptoms and development of DSS-induced colitis in mice. These suggested that L. lactis could be a potential host bacterium for production and delivery of IGF-I against intestinal diseases.

High dose of zinc oxide (ZnO) could improve growth performance and alleviate disease status, whereas it caused serious environmental pollution and bacterial resistance. This study was to investigate whether low doses of sodium alginate-coated nano zinc oxide (saZnO), a new type of zinc resource, could serve as a potential alternative to pharmacological doses of traditional ZnO in weaned piglets. A total of 144 crossbred piglets were randomly allocated into three groups, including a basal diet without the addition of Zn (CON), a basal diet with 1600 mg Zn/kg from traditional ZnO (ZnO), and a basal diet with 500 mg Zn/kg from saZnO (saZnO). The experiment lasted for 28 days. The results showed that supplementing with ZnO and saZnO for 14 and 28 days significantly improved body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.01) and markedly reduced the feed intake-to-gain ratio (F/G) (p < 0.05) and diarrhea rate. In addition, dietary ZnO and saZnO significantly increased the activities of the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (p < 0.01). Supplementing with saZnO also promoted the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), IgM and copper- and zinc-containing superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) in serum (p < 0.05), whereas a ZnO addition decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) (p < 0.05), indicating the beneficial effect of Zn on antioxidant and immune functions. Piglets fed the ZnO diet showed higher serum Zn accumulations than those fed the CON and saZnO diets at d 28 (p < 0.01), and supplementing with ZnO and saZnO markedly contributed to Zn excretion in feces, especially in the ZnO diet (p < 0.01). Additionally, piglets fed the saZnO diet had greater valeric acid concentrations (p < 0.05) in their feces, while other short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were not affected by different treatments (p > 0.05). Microbial alpha diversity was reduced in the saZnO group compared with the CON group (p < 0.05), while an obvious separation of microbial composition, the marker of beta diversity, was shown among the three groups (p < 0.05). At the genus level, six genera, including Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, Terrisporobacter, f_Muribaculaceae, Subdoligranulum and Intestinibacter, were pronouncedly increased in the ZnO and saZnO groups (p < 0.05); another nine species were dramatically downregulated, such as f_Lachnospiraceae, f_Prevotellaceae, f_Butyricicoccaceae and f_Ruminococcaceae (p < 0.05). Finally, a functional analysis indicated that altered microbes significantly changed the “Metabolism” pathway (p < 0.05). These findings suggested that saZnO could act as a feasible substitute for ZnO to reduce Zn emission and enhance growth performance, antioxidant and immune functions, and to adjust the structure of gut microbiota in piglets.

Preference and performance trials were conducted to investigate the effects of extruded corn with different degrees of gelatinization on the feed preference, growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microbiota of weaning piglets. In the preference trial, 144 piglets who were 35 days old were weighed and allotted to six treatments with four replications per treatment. Piglets in each treatment group were allowed to choose two of the following four corn-supplemented diets: conventional corn (NC) or extruded corn with low (LEC; 41.82% gelatinization), medium (MEC; 62.60% gelatinization), or high (HEC; 89.93% gelatinization) degrees of gelatinization for 18 days. The results showed that the piglets preferred diets supplemented with a low degree of gelatinization of extruded corn. In the performance trial, 144 piglets who were 35 days old were weighed and allotted into four treatments with six replications per treatment. Piglets in each treatment were fed one of the four diets for 28 days. The results showed that LEC and MEC decreased the feed:gain ratio at 14–28 days and 0–28 days, respectively, and increased the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of crude protein compared with NC. Meanwhile, LEC increased the total protein and globulin content in the plasma on day 14, and MEC increased the ATTD of ether extract (EE) compared with NC. Extruded corn with low and medium degrees of gelatinization increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes at the phylum level and Lactobacillus, Alloprevotella, Prevotellaceae_UCG-03, and Prevotella_2 at the genus level. The results showed that extruded corn can improve feed preference, increase growth performance and nutrient digestibility, and modify gut microbiota, and the ideal degree of gelatinization is approximately 41.82–62.60%.

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lysozyme on immune response, fecal microflora in sows and their offspring fed lysozyme from late gestation to the onset of lactation, and growth performance in weaned piglets. Four antibiotic-based treatments (chlortetracycline, colistin, and lysozyme) were applied in experiment 1. Lysozyme addition significantly increased final body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake, improved feed:gain ratio (F:G), and decreased diarrhea rate in weaned piglets. In experiment 2, postpartum [...] ABSTRACT Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lysozyme on immune response, fecal microflora in sows and their offspring fed lysozyme from late gestation to the onset of lactation, and growth performance in weaned piglets. Four antibiotic-based treatments (chlortetracycline, colistin, and lysozyme) were applied in experiment 1. Lysozyme addition significantly increased final body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake, improved feed:gain ratio (F:G), and decreased diarrhea rate in weaned piglets. In experiment 2, postpartum

Introduction: Plant carbon black (PCB) is a new feed additive for zearalenone adsorption in China. However, information regarding whether PCB can effectively absorb deoxynivalenol (DON) is limited.Methods: To explore this research gap, the present study examined the adsorption effectiveness of DON by PCB using a phosphate buffer, artificial gastric juice, and artificial intestinal juice. In a 21-day in vivo trial, 48 male piglets were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: (1) uncontaminated basal diet (CTR), (2) basal diet supplemented with 1 mg/kg PCB(PCB), (3) 2.3 mg/kg DON-contaminated diet (DON), and (4) 2.3 mg/kg DON-contaminated diet supplemented with 0.1% PCB (DON+PCB).Results: When DON concentration was 1 µg/mL, the adsorption rate of PCB on DON in phosphate buffer systems (pH 2.0 and 6.0) and the artificial gastric and intestinal juices were 100%, 100%, 71.46%, and 77.20%, respectively. In the in vivo trial, the DON group significantly increased the DON+deepoxy-deoxynivalenol (DOM-1) content in serum as well as the inflammation cytokine proteins (interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α) and mRNA expression of interleukin-6 and longchain acyl-CoA synthetase 4 in the jejunum and ileum. It decreased the villus height, goblet cells, mucosal thickness, and mRNA expression of Claudin-1 compared to the CTR group. In addition, DON decreased the Shannon and Simpson indices; reduced the relative abundances of Firmicutes, Lactobacillus, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, and Ruminococcus; and increased the relative abundances of Terrisporobacter and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 in the cecal content.Discussion: In conclusion, these results suggest that PCB showed high adsorption efficacy on DON in vitro, and exhibit the protective effects against various intestinal toxicity manifestations in DON-challenged piglets.