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Sixty castrated piglets were used. They were challenged with the ETEC mixture of three serotypes (0149, 0141 and 064) at 22 d of age and assigned randomly into 4 groups, control (C), control supplemented with cipB at 100mg/kg (C+B), control supplemented with cipB-LFC-LFA at 100mg/kg (C+L) and control supplemented with CS at 100mg/kg (C+CS). The pigs were individually weighed on an empty stomach at the end of the experiment. To obtain a serum sample, 5 pigs per treatment were used, and these animals were euthanized to evaluate intestinal microbiota and gut morphology.
Piglets fed the C+L or C+CS diet had higher daily weight gain, daily feed intake (P<0.05) and had lower faecal scores (P<0.05) than pigs fed the C or C+B diet. Compared with the C and C+B diets, dietary supplementation with cipB-LFC-LFA or CS increased recovery from diarrhoea (P<0.05), increased serum Fe, total Fe-binding capacity and IgA, IgG and IgM (P<0.05), decreased the concentration of E. coli in the ileum, caecum and colon (P<0.05) and increased the concentration of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the ileum, caecum and colon (P<0.05). The concentration of bifidobacteria in the ileum of the C+L group was lower than that in the C+CS group (P<0.05). Pigs fed C+L or C+CS had higher levels of glutathione peroxidase, peroxidase and total antioxidant content (T-AOC) in both serum and liver (P<0.05). Serum peroxidase, T-AOC and serum IgM in the C+L group were lower than those in the C+CS group (P<0.05). The villus height of the jejunum and ileum in the C+L group was greater than that in the C and C+B groups (P<0.05), and the villus height:crypt depth ratio of the jejunum in the C+L group was greater than that in the C group (P<0.05).
Lactoferricin-lactoferrampin is an effective alternative to the feed antibiotic CS for enhancing growth performance in piglets weaned at age 21 d.
Z Tang, Y Yin, Y Zhang, R Huang, Z Sun, T Li, W Chu, X Kong, L Li, M Geng and Q Tu. 2009. British Journal of Nutrition, 101: 998-1005
