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Live yeast (Saccharomyces spp) has been used as a preventive and therapeutic agent for the treatment of a variety of intestinal diseases in humans and animals. In recent studies has been demonstrated the ability of S. cerevisiae gender to exert the anti-inflammatory effect in vitro using IPI-2 and IPEC -1 porcine epithelial cells culture challenged with ETEC K88. In this study was investigated the effect of live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the severity of diarrhea, immune response, and growth performance in weaned piglets orally challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strain O149:K88.
A total of 4 pregnant sows and their piglets (n=34 Duroc x Pietrain x Landrace) were used. Live yeast was fed to sows and their piglets in the late gestation, suckling, and post-weaning periods. Sows were fed a basal diet without (Control; n = 2) or with (Supplemented; n = 2) 1 g of live yeast/kg feed, from d 94 of gestation and during lactation until weaning of the piglets (d 28). After farrowing, suckling piglets of the supplemented sows (n=15) were orally treated with 1 g of live yeast in porridge carrier 3 times a week until weaning. Weaned piglets were fed a basal starter diet without (Control; n = 19) or with (Supplemented; n = 15) 5 g of live yeast/kg feed for 2 wk. Challenge with ETEC strain, serotype O149:K88, LT+, was orally with a single dose of 1.5 x 1011 cfu/piglet. Lower daily diarrhoea scores (P < 0.05), duration of the diarrhoea (P < 0.01), and shedding of pathogenic ETEC bacteria (P < 0.05) in faeces was detected in the supplemented group. Administration of live yeast significantly increased (P < 0.05) IgA levels in the serum of piglets. Evidence indicates that decreased infection-related stress and severity of diarrhoea in yeast-fed weaned piglets positively affected their growth capacity in the post-weaning period (P < 0.05).
These results suggest that dietary supplementation with live yeast S. cerevisiae to sows and piglets in the late gestation, suckling, and post-weaning periods can be useful in the reduction of the duration and severity of post-weaning diarrhoea caused by ETEC. In conclusion, it seems that S. cerevisiae could be an alternative for prevention and treatment of post-weaning diarrhoea.
Trckova, M., Faldyna, M., Alexa, P., Sramkova Zajacova, Z., Gopfert, E., Kumprechtova, D., Auclair, E. and D’Inca, R. (2014) The effects of live yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on postweaning diarrhea, immune response, and growth performance in weaned piglets. Journal of Animal Science. 92: 767–774. doi:10.2527/jas2013-6793
