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The probiotic supplementation could be a protective measure to ameliorate diarrhoea but the results of feeding probiotics may depend on host-species specificity. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of host specific probiotic on growth performance, diarrhoea scores, intestinal microbiota and gut health of grower-finisher pigs. The trial (180 d) used 36 early weaned piglets (28 d of age) divided into three dietary groups (4 replicates and 3 pigs/pen) without antibiotic. Treatments were: 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). Feeding program was in 4 phases as 5-10 kg, 10-20 kg, 20-50 kg, and 50-80 kg of BW and provided 23.2, 21.0, 19.6, and 15.3 % of crude protein. The probiotics were fed as fermented feed at 200 g/pig/day. The procedure was as one kg of ground maize mixed with 1 L tap water and inoculated with 24 h old culture (100 ml of culture inoculated). Six pigs from each group were sacrificed at the end of the trial to determine the intestinal morphology.
Daily feeding of probiotics from weaning to market age showed increased 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, whereas, E. coli and clostridia population decreased in both probiotics fed groups compared to control. The lactic acid concentration in feces was highest for the pigs fed the T2 diet. Differently, ammonia nitrogen and pH were observed to be lower in T1 and T2 pigs compared to control. Both probiotic supplementations (dairy and swine origin) lowered diarrhoea scores after weaning, however P. acidilactici strain FT28 was more effective than L. acidophilus NCDC-15. It was observed increased villi height (V) and crypt depth (C) with decreased V: C ratio in both probiotic supplements.
In conclusion, dietary probiotics supplementation in the basal diet improved growth performance, fecal microbial count and intestinal morphology in grower-finisher pigs. Pediococcus acidilactici strain FT28 was more effective as compared to Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC-15 in controlling diarrhoea and maintaining acidic environment in intestinal tract by producing more fecal lactic acid which suggests host-species specificity of probiotics. Hence, the use of microbes isolated from the host as probiotic should be more appropriate technology for maintaining health status and performance of the animals by ameliorating weaning stress.
Dowarah, R., Verma, A. K., Agarwal, N., Patel, B. H. M., and Singh, P. (2017). Effect of swine based probiotic on performance, diarrhoea scores, intestinal microbiota and gut health of grower-finisher crossbred pigs. Livestock Science, 195, 74-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2016.11.006