Effects of different levels of metabolite combination produced by Lactobacillus plantarum on growth performance, diarrhoea, gut environment and digestibility of postweaning piglets

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of metabolite combinations produced by Lactobacillus plantarum on growth performance, diarrhoea incidence, gut environment and nutrient digestibility in postweaning piglets. A total of 40 piglets were assigned into one of five treatments: (1) negative control (free antibiotic); (2) positive control (0.03% antibiotic of chlortetracycline); (3) Met 1 (0.1% metabolite combination of TL1, RG14 and RS5 strains); (4) Met 3 (0.3% metabolite combination of TL1, RG14 and RS5 strains); and (5) Met 5 (0.5% metabolite combination of TL1, RG14 and RS5 strains). After 5 weeks of the trial, the average daily gain (ADG) and daily feed intake (DFI) was significantly (P < 0.05) improved in Met 5 group compared to the negative control and Met 1 group. The diarrhoea incidence was significantly (P<0.05) reduced when were piglets fed with positive control and Met 5 dietary treatment. The pH value and Enterobacteriaceae (ENT) in the gut were reduced in Met 5 treatment as compared to negative control and Met 1 group. However, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in the gut were significantly higher (P<0.05) when piglets were fed with Met 5 dietary treatment. In contrast, feeding of metabolite combination to piglets did not improve energy utilisation. In addition, piglets fed with Met 5 dietary treatment improved protein digestibility compared to the negative control and Met 1 group. The results obtained in this study showed that feeding of 0.5% metabolite combinations could improve growth performance, gut health environment and protein digestibility in postweaning piglets. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.