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Fermented feed (FF) is widely applied to improve swine performance. It contains superior nutritional quality and low antinutritional factor content and is considered one of the promising alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters. However, the understandings of the effects of FF on the immune status and gut microbiota of lactating sows and whether probiotics are the effective composition of FF are still limited. The present study aimed to investigate the performance, immune status, and gut microbiota of lactating sows fed with a basal diet supplemented with Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium co-fermented feed (FF), with the probiotic combination (PRO) of B. subtilis and E. faecium and control diet (CON) as controls. For that aim, 452 sows were stochastically subjected to these 3 treatments from a week before parturition to 21-days of weaning. During the experiment, sows’ feed intake, backfat, and constipation rate was measured, as well as, piglets’ weight and diarrhoea incidence.
Compared with the CON group, the FF group remarkably improved the average daily feed intake of sows and the weight gain of piglets, while significantly decreased the backfat loss, constipation rate of sows and diarrhoea incidence of piglets. The yield and quality of milk of sows in the FF group were improved. Besides, faecal acetate and butyrate were promoted in the FF group. Additionally, FF increased the level of IgG, IgM and IL-10 and decreased the concentration of TNF-α in serum. Furthermore, FF reduced the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and increased the level of Lactobacillus and Succiniclasticum, which were remarkably associated with growth performance and serum immune parameters. Accordingly, microbial metabolic functions including DNA repair and recombination proteins, glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, mismatch repair and d-alanine metabolism were significantly upregulated, while amino acid metabolism was downregulated in FF group.
Overall, the beneficial effects of FF were superior to PRO treatment. Altogether, administration of FF during lactation improved the performance and immune status, and modulated gut microbiota of sows.
Wang C, Wei S, Xu B, Hao L, Su W, Jin M, Wang Y. Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium co‐fermented feed regulates lactating sow's performance, immune status and gut microbiota. Microbial Biotechnology. 2021; 14(2): 614-627. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13672
