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Farmers face difficulties getting a return on their investment in larger litter sizes since this comes with larger litter heterogenicity, lower litter resilience and risk of higher mortality. Dietary oligosaccharides, given to the sow, have been proven beneficial for the offspring’s performance. However, the effects of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) on the piglet’s gut health and performance by supplementing scFOS to piglets exclusively during the suckling period have not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of dietary scFOS (1g/day) supplementation to low (LBW, lower quartile), normal (NBW, two intermediate quartiles) and high (HBW, upper quartile) birth weight piglets from birth until 7 or 21 days of age. Performance parameters, gut microbiome and short-chain fatty acids profile of feces and digesta were assessed at birth (d 0), d 7, weaning (d 21.5) and 2 weeks post-weaning (d 36.5). Additional parameters reflecting gut health (intestinal integrity and morphology, mucosal immune system) were analysed at d 36.5.
As expected, most parameters changed with age or differed with the piglet’s birth weight. Drenching with scFOS increased body weight by 1 kg in NBW suckling piglets and reduced the post-weaning mortality rate by a 100%. No clear difference in the IgG level, the microbiota composition and fermentative activity between the treatment groups was observed. Additionally, intestinal integrity, determined by measuring intestinal permeability and regenerative capacity, was similar between the treatment groups. Also, intestinal architecture (villus lenght, crypt depth) was not affected by scFOS supplementation. The density of intra-epithelial lymphocytes and the expression profiles (real-time qPCR) for immune system-related genes (IL-10, IL-1ß, IL-6, TNFα and IFNγ) were used to assess mucosal immunity. Only IFNγ expression, was upregulated in piglets that received scFOS for 7 days.
In conclusion, the improved body weight and the reduced post-weaning mortality seen in piglets supplemented with scFOS support the view that scFOS positively impact piglet health and resilience. However, the modes of action for these effects are not yet fully elucidated and its potential to improve other performance parameters needs further investigation.
Ayuso M, Michiels J, Wuyts S, Yan H, Degroote J, Lebeer S, Le Bourgot C, Apper E, Majdeddin M, Van Noten N, Vanden Hole C, Van Cruchten S, Van Poucke M, Peelman L, Van Ginneken C. Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides supplementation to suckling piglets: Assessment of pre-and post-weaning performance and gut health. PloS one. 2020; 15(6): e0233910. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233910
