Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
5543163 Livestock Science 2017 26 Pages PDF
Abstract
The present study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of host specific probiotic on growth performance, diarrhoea scores, intestinal microbiota and gut health of grower-finisher pigs. A feeding trial (180 days) was carried out with 36 early weaned piglets (28 days) divided into three dietary groups (4 replicates of 3 each) viz., T0 (basal diet alone, control), T1 (basal diet + probiotic of dairy origin, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC-15) and T2 (basal diet + probiotic of swine origin, Pediococcus acidilactici strain FT28). The probiotics were fed as fermented feed @200 g/pig/day. At the end of the trial, six pigs from each group were sacrificed to determine the intestinal morphology. Daily feeding of probiotics from weaning to market age showed positive (P<0.05) impact on average daily gain (ADG), average dry matter intake (ADMI) and gain: feed ratio (G: F). The fecal count of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria were increased (P<0.001), whereas, E. coli and clostridia population decreased (P<0.001) in both probiotics fed groups compared to control. The lactic acid concentration in feces was highest (P=0.003) in T2 group; whereas, ammonia nitrogen and pH were observed to be lower (P<0.05) in treatment (T1 and T2) groups compared to control. Probiotic supplementation (dairy and swine origin) lowered (P<0.05) diarrhoea scores after weaning, however P. acidilactici strain FT28 was more effective in decreasing (P<0.05) diarrhoea scores than L. acidophilus NCDC-15. The villi height (V) and crypt depth (C) was increased (P<0.05) with decreased (P<0.05) V: C ratio in both probiotic fed groups. In conclusion, probiotics supplementation in basal diet improved growth performance, fecal microbial count and intestinal morphology in grower-finisher pigs. Whereas, P. acidilactici strain FT28 was more effective in reducing diarrhoea scores and maintaining acidic environment of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) indicating a synergistic probiotic effect along with gut microbiota for promotion of gut health of the animal.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Animal Science and Zoology
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