A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was used to evaluate the effect of xylanase and sodium butyrate supplementation on performance, intestinal fermentation,

This study investigated whether the inclusion of a stimbiotic (STB) can improve performance, influence intestinal microbiota and fermentation activity, and reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines in piglets fed a low zinc oxide diet without antimicrobial growth promotors compared to fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) and mannan-oligosaccharide (MOS) when housed either in good sanitary (GS) or poor sanitary (PS) environments. One hundred forty-four male pigs (28-day-old) were sorted by initial body weight (BW) and allocated to one of six experimental treatments: 1) GS environment without any additive (GS-CTR); 2) GS environment with 0.01% stimbiotic (GS-STB); 3) PS environment (without cleaning and disinfection of a previously populated room) without any additive (PS-CTR); 4) PS environment with 0.01% STB (PS-STB); 5) PS environment with 0.1% MOS (PS-MOS); and 6) PS environment with 0.2% FOS (PS-FOS). Each treatment had six replicates, with four animals each. Three feeding phases, based on corn, wheat, and soybean meal were available ad libitum for the 42-days of the study. Housing piglets under PS conditions negatively influenced performance, increased plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), affected the fecal microbial populations and increased concentrations of branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) compared to GS. Stimbiotic improved 42-d-BW under PS conditions (P < 0.05) whereas MOS or FOS had no effect. On d35, plasma TNF-α was reduced with STB in PS (P < 0.05). The ratio between VFA:BCFA increased (P < 0.05) with STB, MOS or FOS in PS, and under GS condition, STB also increased the ratio. Stimbiotic increased the proportion of Clostridiales Family XIII Incertae Sedis and Clostridiaceae, while MOS and FOS increased Selenomonadaceae, Catabacteriaceae and Fibrobacteraceae. These results indicate that STB shifted the intestinal microbiome to favor fiber fermentation which likely contributed to reduced inflammatory response and improved performance, particularly in piglets reared in PS conditions.

The inhibition of the attachment of bacteria to the intestine by receptor analogues could be a novel approach to prevent enterotoxigenicEscherichia coli(ETEC) K88-induced diarrhoea in piglets. The objective of the present study was to screen the ability of different feed ingredients (FI) to bind to ETEC K88 (adhesion test, AT) and to block its attachment to the porcine intestinal mucus (blocking test, BT) usingin vitromicrotitration-based models. In the AT, wheat bran (WB), casein glycomacropeptide (CGMP) and exopolysaccharides exhibited the highest adhesion to ETEC K88 (P< 0·001). In the BT, WB, CGMP and locust bean (LB) reduced the number of ETEC K88 attached to the intestinal mucus (P< 0·001). For WB and LB, fractionation based on their carbohydrate components was subsequently carried out, and each fraction was evaluated individually. None of the WB fractions reduced the adhesion of ETEC K88 to the mucus as did the original extract, suggesting that a protein or glycoprotein could be involved in the recognition process. With regard to the LB fractions, the water-extractable material reduced the adhesion of ETEC K88 (P< 0·001) to the mucus similar to the original extract (P< 0·001), indicating, in this case, that galactomannans or phenolic compounds could be responsible for the recognition process. In conclusion, among the FI screened, the soluble extracts obtained from WB, LB and CGMP exhibited the highest anti-adhesive properties against ETEC K88 in the BT. These results suggest that they may be good candidates to be included in diets of weaned piglets for the prevention of ETEC K88-induced diarrhoea.

Two independent studies were performed, each with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement to compare the response in broilers and turkeys to phytase and xylanase supplementation on cecal fermentation and microbial populations. For both studies, 960 Ross 308 and 960 BUT 10 (1-day-old) were allocated to 1 of 6 experimental treatments: (1) control diet, containing the standard dose (100 g/ton) of phytase (STD-Xyl); (2) the control diet with 100 g/ton of xylanase (STD + Xyl); (3) the control diet supplemented on top with 2 fold the standard dose of phytase (200 g/ton), also referred as superdosing (SD-Xyl); (4) the superdosed diet with 100 g/ton of xylanase (SD + Xyl); (5) the control diet supplemented with 5-fold the standard dose of phytase (500 g/ton), also referred as megadosing (MD-Xyl); and (6) the megadosed diet with 100 g/ton of xylanase (MD + Xyl). Each treatment had 8 replicates of 20 animals. Broiler and turkey diets, based on wheat, soybean meal, rapeseed, and barley, and water were available ad libitum. On day 28, the cecal contents from 5 birds per pen were collected. The profile of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and microbiome structure (by % guanidine and cytosine [G + C] method) were analyzed. Selected % G + C fractions were used for 16S rDNA sequencing for the identification of bacteria. No treatment effects were noted on SCFA concentrations in either broilers or turkeys. Broilers fed MD diets had greater proportions of unclassified Clostridiales, Mollicutes (RF9) and Faecalibacterium. Xylanase supplementation in broilers resulted in lower proportions of Lactobacillus but increased Mollicutes (RF9), unclassified Ruminococcus, unclassified Clostridiales, and Bifidobacterium. The microbiome in turkeys was unaffected by phytase supplementation, but xylanase supplementation increased the proportions of Lachnospiraceae (Incertae sedis), Lactobacillus, and Bifidobacterium. Supplementation of turkey diets with increasing doses of phytase did not affect the cecal microbiota in contrast to what was observed in broilers. In contrast, xylanase supplementation in both species led to significant changes in the microbial populations, suggesting a positive influence through the provision of oligosaccharides.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a product consisting of a combination of xylanase and xylo-oligosaccharide (STBIO) on performance and ileal digestibility of broiler chickens fed energy and amino acid (AA) deficient diets. Day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 8 pens per treatment, with 25 chicks per pen. Treatments based on wheat-corn-soybean meal diets were arranged in a 3 × 2 factorial design: a positive control that met or exceeded nutrient recommendations (PC), a negative control diet with a 50 kcal/kg apparent metabolizable energy (AME) reduction (NC1) and NC1 with a 3% reduction in AA content (NC2), each with or without supplementation of 100 g/t of the STBIO. Body weight gain (BWG), feed intake, feed conversion ratio corrected for mortality (FCR) and the European production efficiency factor (EPEF) were recorded from 0 to 42 d. On d 42, ileal samples were collected to determine dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), ash, protein and energy digestibility. A significant interaction was observed for BWG and feed intake (P < 0.001). The energy and AA reduction reduced (P < 0.05) BWG when compared to the PC. The effect of STBIO on BWG was greater in NC1 (+451 g/bird) than in NC2 (+314 g/bird) or PC (+176 g/bird) diets (P < 0.05), and that in NC2 with STBIO was equal to that in PC without STBIO, and that in NC1 with STBIO was equal to that in PC with STBIO. No interactions were observed on the EPEF or FCR; however, STBIO improved EPEF (P < 0.001) and FCR (P < 0.001) irrespective of the energy reduction or AA density. The intake of digestible DM, OM, ash and energy for the finisher period was increased with STBIO supplementation (P < 0.01). A significant interaction was observed for the intake of digestible protein. NC1 and NC2 reduced the intake of digestible protein; however, when STBIO was supplemented, it was improved in both diets to similar levels to the PC. The stimbiotic supplementation improved performance of broiler chickens fed all diets, particularly those deficient in AME and AA.