Effect of lactulose on growth performance and intestinal morphology of pre-ruminant calves using a milk replacer containing Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

The synthetic disaccharide lactulose is known to improve the intestinal microflora by stimulating the growth of selected probiotic bacteria in the gut. In our experiment the effects of lactulose in combination with the probiotic bacteria Enterococcus faecium on growth performance and morphology of the bovine intestine were examined. Calves aged 39^2 days were randomised to three feeding groups (no. ¼ 14 each group): control (L0), fed milk replacer (MR) containing E. faecium; a lactulose group (L1) containing additional 1% lactulose and a second lactulose group (L3) containing 3% lactulose dry matter. The calves were weighed weekly. After 19 weeks the calves were slaughtered and tissues were collected for histological studies. The average daily live weight gain tended to be higher (P , 0.1) for L3 (1350 g/day) than L0 (1288 g/day). Compared with L0, a reduction (P , 0.001) of ileal villus height due to lactulose treatment of approximately 14% in group L1 and 20% in L3 was determined. A significant decrease in the depth of the crypts about 12% in L1 and 8% in L3 was detected in the caecum. The surface area of lymph follicles from Peyer's patches was decreased by lactulose treatment. Results show that lactulose has an effect on the morphology of intestine. A significant effect on growth performance can not be confirmed. However, results permit the conclusion that lactulose feeding has the tendency to increase growth performance.

Effects of probiotic dietary supplementation on diarrhoea patterns, faecal microbiota and performance of early weaned calves

“…For the entire trial the calves in the experimental group consumed on average 0.22 kg less feed dry matter per kg of weight gain than the calves in the control group (Table 5).Thus, during the 56 dayexperimental period, the average feed conversion rate was improved by 12.9% in the probiotic-treated group. Fleige et al (2007) reported that a high dose of lactulose in combination with E. faecium affects the intestinal immune function. Consequently, the calves might be more resistant to diseases and have improved performance.…”

“…The use of probiotics is expected to improve BW gain, feed conversion and health of livestock because probiotics promote the establishment of a beneficial gut flora and inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the intestine. Many researchers have studied the use of lactobacilli and streptococci as probiotics (Fuler, 1989), especially enteroccocus probiotics (Fleige et al, 2007;Samli et al, 2007Vahjen et al, 2007. Some probiotic compounds are claimed to have formulae designed to provide suitable conditions in the alimentary tract so as to minimize the incidence of diarrhoea, therefore effecting improvements in body weight gain, body height and general health condition.…”

Effects of the prebiotics inulin and lactulose on intestinal immunology and hematology of preruminant calves

“…It has been commonly used to treat constipation (Attar et al, 1999) or hepatic encephalopathy (Bircher et al, 1966), and has been reported to have effects similar to inulin on carcinogenesis, immunology (Schumann, 2002) or animal growth performance (Fleige et al, 2007a).…”

“…Inulin has been chosen since it is commonly accepted to have prebiotic characteristics, but only little is known about its effects on calves. Lactulose has been used in previous studies on calves in combination with the probiotic strain Enterococcus faecium (Fleige et al, 2007a(Fleige et al, , 2007b(Fleige et al, and 2009. In this study, its effects should be verified in the absence of additional effectors.…”

Lactulose: effect on apoptotic- and immunological-markers in the gastro-intestinal tract of pre-ruminant calves

“…In the colonic crypts, apoptosis maintains the balance in cell number between newly generated and surviving cells and at the luminal surface where differentiated epithelial cell are exfoliated (Potten, 1992). Previous investigations showed an effect of lactulose feeding on the morphology of the small and large intestine in pre-ruminant calves (Fleige et al, 2007). Based on histomorphological analyses, the study indicates that lactulose reduced the villus sizes in the ileum and decreased crypt depth in the caecum.…”