Effect of sodium humate and zinc oxide used in prophylaxis of post-weaning diarrhoea on faecal microbiota composition in weaned piglets

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to use high throughput sequencing of piglet faeces to investigate if the favourable effects of sodium humate (HNa) and zinc oxide (ZnO) in post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) treatment are related to changes in the faecal microbiota. Twenty four piglets weaned at 28 days of age were divided into three groups with eight animals per pen: a control group without any treatment (Control), a group treated with 2500 mg ZnO (ZnO), and a group treated with 20 g sodium humate and 1700 mg ZnO (HNa + ZnO) per kg of diet. Piglets of all three groups were challenged with two enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains (ETEC/O149/F4/LT and ETEC/O147/F18/LT) on Day 4 post-weaning. As a result very intense and severe diarrhoea with high mortality developed in the ETEC-infected control group, while the ZnO and HNa + ZnO dietary treatments both protected piglets from clinical signs of diarrhoea, mortality and depression of growth performance. A higher relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteria represented mainly by genus Escherichia on Day 10 postweaning in faeces of the ETEC-infected control group in comparison with ZnO and HNa + ZnO was detected. On Day 21, the highest relative increase of beneficial lactobacilli was observed in the HNa + ZnO group. Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation of the ETEC-infected control with the genera Turicibacter, Clostridium, Campylobacter, Dehalobacterium, Desulfuvibrio, Paludibacter and a negative correlation with the genera Prevotella, Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Lactobacillus, and Coprococcus. The opposite correlations with these genera were observed in the supplemented groups, especially in the HNa + ZnO group. The results indicate that dietary supplementation with HNa and ZnO affects the microbial composition of faeces while maintaining good health condition and growth performance of ETEC-infected weaned pigs.

Effects of sodium humate and zinc oxide used in prophylaxis of post-weaning diarrhoea on the health, oxidative stress status and fatty acid profile in weaned piglets

“…The results are in accordance with previous findings that confirmed the positive effect of ZnO and HNa treatments on performance in weaned piglets (Trckova et al 2015;Kaevska et al 2016). ZnO is well known to enhance growth performance in piglets through the stabilisation of the intestinal microbiota and improvements in nutrient digestion and utilisation.…”

“…There are ongoing efforts aimed at finding effective alternatives, that could protect piglets from post-weaning diarrhoea and growth depression after weaning. In our previous studies (Trckova et al 2015;Kaevska et al 2016) we verified the possibility of the substitution of a pharmacological dose of ZnO (2.5 g/kg diet) by humic substances (HS). HS are natural bioactive agents primarily decomposed from organic matter by bacteria in the soil.…”

Effect of the Addition of Humic Substances as Growth Promoter in Broiler Chickens Under Two Feeding Regimens

“…No reports of the effects of HS on C. perfringens were found in poultry on published articles. In piglets fed diets added with sodium humates, no effects on fecal C. perfringens were observed after 21 d of supplementation [51]. In humans supplemented with a standardized HA preparation, the colonic concentration of C. difficile increased, but the observed difference was not significant [52].…”

The use of humic acids in livestock

“…Humic acid is highly concentrated organic material derived from leonardite, an oxygenated product of lignite, rich in humic acids and various types of elements, such as natural amino ac-ids, minerals and vitamins just to mention a few [4,[6][7][8].…”