Administration of loperamide and addition of wheat bran to the diets of weaner pigs decrease the incidence of diarrhoea and enhance their gut maturation

Abstract

The influence of fibre inclusion and transit time regulation on the performance, health status, microbial activity and population, physico-chemical characteristics of the hindgut digesta and intestinal morphology in early weaned pigs were examined. For these experiments, wheat bran (WB) was used as fibre source and loperamide as a drug (LOP) to increase the digesta transit time. In Expt 1, a total of 128 early weaned pigs were randomly distributed in a 2 £ 2 factorial combination of WB inclusion (0 v. 40 g/kg) and LOP administration (0 v. 0·07 mg/kg body weight) during 13 d. For Expt 2, a total of twenty-four piglets were allotted to three dietary treatments for 15 d with the same basal diet (control diet) as Expt 1; a diet with 80 g/kg of WB and the combination of WB and LOP. In Expt 1, LOP improved the average daily feed intake and average daily gain of the animals (P¼ 0·001 and 0·007, respectively). The same result was obtained when WB was combined with LOP. The WB -LOP group also showed a higher concentration of SCFA (P¼0·013), acetic acid (P¼ 0·004) and propionic acid (P¼ 0·093). On the other hand, WB inclusion reduced the organic matter and crude protein digestibility (P¼ 0·001) and tended to decrease the enterobacteria population (P¼ 0·089). In Expt 2, WB increased the butyric acid concentration (P¼0·086). We concluded that the inclusion of WB to modify the intestinal microbiota activity combined with LOP may be beneficial to animal health and performance.

Effects of fiber inclusion on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of piglets reared under optimal or poor hygienic conditions12

“…In both experiments, the digestibility of all nutrients, except for CP, which was not affected, decreased with the inclusion of fiber in the diet, in agreement with most published reports (Hogberg and Lindberg, 2006;Molist et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2013). Mateos et al (2007) reported also that the inclusion of 2.0% OH in a control diet that contained 6.5% NDF reduced OM digestibility from 87.0 to 85.0% but that CP digestibility was not affected.…”

Relationship between Dietary Fiber Fermentation and Volatile Fatty Acids’ Concentration in Growing Pigs

“…In the present study, concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate and total VFA were positively correlated with the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) values of insoluble fiber fractions, which agrees with results from numerous studies in which there was a positive relationship between fermentation of insoluble fiber sources and concentration of butyrate in the large intestine [36,37]. The development of prediction equations for fecal VFA concentrations indicated that the digestibility of IDF is the best single variable with which to predict the concentration of VFA in the feces of pigs compared to the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of other fiber components.…”

Applicability of an Unmedicated Feeding Program Aimed to Reduce the Use of Antimicrobials in Nursery Piglets: Impact on Performance and Fecal Microbiota

“…Together with the differences in main cereals, the introduction of wheat bran in the UN diets (4.5-2.5%) is remarkable. The inclusion of wheat by-products, such as wheat bran, rich in insoluble NSP, resistant to fermentation, can reduce bowel transit time [8], which could explain some of the changes found. Actually, wheat bran has been reported to reduce pathogen adhesion [56,57] and to promote the Prevotellaceae family [11,58].…”

“…Together with in-feed additives, dietary fiber (DF) has gained attention as a strategy to improve the gut health of weanlings [8][9][10][11]. In addition, the use of fibrous by-products has recently gained interest as a means of reducing production costs [12] and diminishing the environmental impact of the agroindustry [13].…”