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World population growth is leading to an increased demand for the food from animal origin. For the future of the planet and food-production system sustainability, some important issues will require to be faced. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most important global concerns causing thousands of deaths per year and livestock can contribute to the antimicrobial resistance spreading. The aim of the following study was to evaluate tributyrin supplementation as a functional feed additive alternative to antibiotics on performance, health, serum metabolites and gut microbiota in post-weaning piglets. One hundred and twenty piglets were divided into two experimental groups (10 animals/pen; 6 pens/group) fed with commercial diet for control group, and commercial diet supplemented with 0.2% of tributyrin in the treatment group for 40 days. Body weight and feed refuse were measured at days 0, 14, 28 and 40 for the calculation of zootechnical performance. Blood and faeces were collected for the evaluation of principal serum metabolites and faecal volatile fatty acids concentration and faecal microbiota trough 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing.
Tributyrin supplementation significantly increased the body weight after 40 days of trial (20.10±1.04 kg in control group and 23.20±1.04 in treatment group). Albumin and glucose concentrations were higher in the treatment group compared to control group. Volatile fatty acids profile in faecal samples showed higher concentrations of isobutyrate indicating enhanced dietary protein catabolism by bacteria. Beta diversity index showed a significant difference after 40 days of trial observing separate clustering of control and treatment groups. The functional profile prediction of microbiota showed an enhanced potential for energy metabolism in the treatment group.
The supplementation of tributyrin could be considered a valuable functional feed additive for improving performance, metabolic status and gut microbiota modulation in weaned piglets.
