Screening of the ability of natural feed ingredients commonly used in pig diets to interfere with the attachment of ETEC K88 (F4) to intestinal epithelial cells

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 (F4) is a worldwide cause of severe diarrhoea in the offspring of some animal species such as weaned pigs. Preventing ETEC K88 (F4) attaching to the small intestine by natural feed ingredients interfering with its fimbria-receptor recognition could be an alternative method to reduce diarrhoea occurrence. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of different common ingredients in the formulation of pig diets, and particularly different kinds of cereal brans, to attach ETEC K88 (F4) (adhesion test, AT) and to block its attaching to intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) (blocking test, BT) in vitro. For the feed ingredients, wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, extruded full-fat soybean meal, soybean meal, as well as sweet whey powder, all demonstrated a clear affinity to attach ETEC K88 (F4) (P < 0.05). Regarding rye, oats (P < 0.01) and also wheat (P = 0.05), all of them could also reduce ETEC K88 (F4) adhesion to IPEC-J2 cells. Among differently tested cereal brans, wheat bran, spelt bran, kamut bran, rye bran, oat bran and rice bran all demonstrated an ability to attach ETEC K88 (F4) (P < 0.001) and all of them were able to reduce ETEC K88 (F4) attachment to IPEC-J2 cells (P < 0.001), except rice bran. Results from these experiments highlight the functional properties of some common feed ingredients like rye, oats and wheat, in addition to their bran to prevent the adhesion of ETEC K88 (F4) to the intestinal epithelium. The properties of these ingredients could be considered as an additional criteria, together to their nutritive value, in the formulation of diets to prevent the appearance of post-weaning diarrhoea.