Journal
LIVESTOCK SCIENCE
Volume 122, Issue 2-3, Pages 248-258Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2008.08.017
Keywords
Bifidobacterium spp.; Probiotics; Prebiotics; Synbiotics; Newly weaned piglets; Intestinal microbiota
Categories
Funding
- European Community [FP6-FOOD-CT-2003-506358]
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The study addresses the first two weeks of piglet weaning and is aimed at i) identifying new probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium spp. and non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO) able to increase the level of autochthonous bifidobacteria in the gut, and ii) finding the best probiotic doses. and probiotic-NDO combinations for piglet growth and gut health. Initially. on a total of 60 pigs we administered 12 strains of 4 bifidobacteria species taken from our collection of strains of different ecological origin. We found the most promising probiotic candidates to be two strains of B. animalis subsp. lactis (M 354 and Ra 18) and one strain of B. choerinum (Su 891), as these led to an increase in the number of viable bifidobacteria in the caecum. In a second trial, a different set of 64 piglets were fed a diet containing a galacto-oligosaccharide (1%) from milk whey, and two fructo-oligosaccharides (4%) from chicory inulin and sugar beet (SbFOS). There was virtually no effect on the hindgut microbiota, except for SbFOS at 4% which tended to increase the endogenous bifidobacteria. Then, in a third trial employing 128 weaning pigs, the probiotic strains Ra 18 and Su 891 were tested individually, at different doses (0; 10(7); 10(9); 10(11) per pig per day) and combined with 0% or 2% SbFOS supplementation. It was found that Ra 18 improved the live weight growth linearly, while the Su 891 did not. The FOS supplementation showed no interaction with the Ra 18 or Su 891 probiotics for growth performance and no effect on this response criterion. Our selection procedure has highlighted that B. animalis subsp. lactis Ra 18, at 10(11) CFU per pig per day, appears to be the best probiotic choice for improved growth performance in weaning piglets. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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