Effect of Lactylate and Bacillus subtilis on Growth Performance, Peripheral Blood Cell Profile, and Gut Microbiota of Nursery Pigs

Abstract

To evaluate the effects of lactylate and Bacillus subtilis on growth performance, complete blood cell count, and microbial changes, 264 weaning pigs were assigned to four treatments (1) control (Con) basal diets that met the nutrient requirement for each phase, (2) 0.2% lactylate (LA), (3) 0.05% Bacillus subtilis strains mixtures (BM), or (4) the combination of LA and BM (LA+BM) added to the control basal diet at their respective inclusion rates in each of the three phases. Dietary lactylate tended to increase weight gain, significantly increased feed intake, and reduced fecal total E. coli and enterotoxigenic E. coli counts during Phase 1. Pigs fed Bacillus subtilis had a greater gain to feed ratio (G:F) during Phases 1 and 2. Pigs fed lactylate had an increased peripheral absolute neutrophil count on D14 but a decreased eosinophil percentage. Pigs fed Bacillus subtilis had an elevated peripheral total white blood cell count at study completion. The addition of lactylate increased microbiota richness, reduced E. coli, and increased Prevotella, Christensenellaceae, and Succinivibrio. Bacillus subtilis supplementation-enriched f_Ruminococcaceae_unclassified and S24-7_ unclassified had positive relationships with feed efficiency. Collectively, these findings suggested that lactylate can be added to diets to balance gut microbiota and improve growth performance during the early postweaning period. The combination of lactylate and Bacillus subtilis strains exerted a synergic effect on the growth performance of nursery pigs.

Comprehensive Cultivation of the Swine Gut Microbiome Reveals High Bacterial Diversity and Guides Bacterial Isolation in Pigs

“…Common probiotics in the swine industry include Lactobacillus and Bacillus . Lactobacillus plays beneficial roles in gut health, such as regulation of intestinal mucosal immunity, maintenance of gut barrier function, and competition with pathogens for binding sites ( 47 , 48 ). It has been identified by CI methods as one of the most abundant genera in pigs, even at different niches of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract ( 26 ).…”

Evaluation of Dietary Probiotic (Lactobacillus plantarum BG0001) Supplementation on the Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Blood Profile, Fecal Gas Emission, and Fecal Microbiota in Weaning Pigs

“…Probiotics are defined as living microorganisms, which, consist of live cultures of bacillus, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), or yeast [ 11 ] and when applied in adequate amounts, confer health benefits for the host [ 12 ]. Studies have shown that the beneficial effects of probiotics on the host include increasing growth rate [ 13 ], improved digestibility [ 14 ], improved and prevention of diarrhea [ 6 ], modulatory effects on the immune system [ 15 ], and reduced harmful gas emissions [ 16 ], etc., At present, Lactobacillus has become a common probiotic supplementation in livestock feed [ 17 ]. L. plantarum is a facultative hetero-fermentative LAB, which usually ferments carbohydrates through the phosphoketolase pathway [ 18 ].…”

Bacillus spp. Probiotic Strains as a Potential Tool for Limiting the Use of Antibiotics, and Improving the Growth and Health of Pigs and Chickens

“…The promotion of the colonization of the gut by beneficial bacteria has also been ascribed to several Bacillus-based probiotics. For instance, B. subtilis favors the intestinal colonization of some beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Leucobacter, Bifidobacteria, Megasphaera, Coprococcus and Prevotella (Wang et al, 2019(Wang et al, , 2021Ding H. et al, 2021) in nursery and growing pigs. Likewise, in chickens, an increase in Enterococcus (Ciurescu et al, 2020; subtilis ATCC 6051a in broilers), Lactobacillus spp.…”