Effects of chito-oligosaccharide supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and fecal shedding of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus in weaning pigs1

Abstract

A total of 50 weaning pigs (16 d of age; 4.72 +/- 0.23 kg of BW) were selected to investigate the effect of dietary chito-oligosaccharide (COS) supplementation on growth performance, fecal shedding of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus, apparent digestibility, and small intestinal morphology. Pigs housed in individual metabolic cages were assigned randomly to 5 treatments (n = 10), including 1 basal diet (control), 3 diets with COS supplementation (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg), and 1 diet with chlortetracycline (CTC) supplementation (80 mg/kg). Fresh fecal samples were collected to evaluate shedding of E. coli and Lactobacillus on d 0, 7, 14, and 21 postweaning. Fresh fecal samples collected from each cage from d 19 to 21 were stored frozen for determination of apparent total tract digestibility. On d 21, all pigs were killed to collect the middle sections of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum for determination of mucosa morphology. Supplementation of COS at 100 and 200 mg/kg and supplementation of CTC improved (P < 0.05) overall ADG, ADFI, and G:F in comparison with the control. Supplementation of COS at 200 mg/kg as well as supplementation of CTC increased (P < 0.05) apparent total tract digestibility of DM, GE, CP, crude fat, Ca, and P, whereas COS at 100 mg/kg increased (P < 0.05) the digestibility of DM, Ca, and P in comparison with the control diet. Pigs receiving diets supplemented with COS or CTC had a decreased (P < 0.05) incidence of diarrhea and decreased diarrhea scores compared with control pigs. Fecal samples from pigs receiving diets supplemented with COS had greater (P < 0.05) Lactobacillus counts than those from control pigs and pigs receiving diets supplemented with CTC on d 14 and 21. However, supplementation of COS at 200 mg/kg and supplementation of CTC decreased (P < 0.05) E. coli counts in the feces on d 21 compared with the control diet. Dietary supplementation of COS at 200 mg/kg and of CTC increased (P < 0.05) the villus height and villus:crypt ratio at the ileum and jejunum, and COS at 100 mg/kg also increased (P < 0.05) the villus height in the ileum compared with the control diet. The current results indicated that dietary supplementation of COS at 100 and 200 mg/kg enhanced growth performance by increasing apparent digestibility, decreasing the incidence of diarrhea, and improving small intestinal morphology.

The effects of supplementing varying molecular weights of chitooligosaccharide on performance, selected microbial populations and nutrient digestibility in the weaned pig

“…It was also demonstrated that supplementation of 5 to 10 kDa, 10 to 50 kDa and 50 to 100 kDa COS had the strongest inhibitive effect against E. coli during the weaner period. Similar results were reported by Liu et al (2008), who reported that faecal lactobacilli numbers were increased while E. coli populations were decreased when COS was included at a level of 200 mg/ kg. The supplementation of COS can alter permeability characteristics of microbial cell membranes and prevent the entry of materials or cause leakage of cell contents that leads to death of bacteria (Sudarshan et al, 1992).…”

“…In the current study, it was demonstrated that daily gain and gain to feed ratio were increased in pigs fed the COS diet compared with the control during the weaner period. Liu et al (2008) demonstrated that the supplementation of COS at different concentrations increased daily gain, feed intake and gain to feed ratio in weaned pigs and also COS supplementation increased BW gain in broilers (Zhou et al, 2009). The improved daily gain and gain to feed ratio reported in the current experiment may be attributable to the highly significant increase in apparent total tract nutrient digestibility and reduction of pathogenic E. coli during the weaner period.…”

“…The inclusion level of COS used in the current study was based on previous work by Liu et al (2008) and Li et al (2007). It is hypothesised that the supplementation of varying MW of COS will improve pig growth performance due to the biological properties of COS, resulting in altered microbiota and digestibility in the gastrointestinal tract.…”

Effects of pig genotype (Iberian v. Landrace × Large White) on nutrient digestibility, relative organ weight and small intestine structure at two stages of growth

“…In other studies, higher TTAD coefficients of indigenous pigs has been related to differences in total weight of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), in enzymatic and microbial activity of the gut and in digesta passage rate (Freire et al, 2003). Nevertheless, little information is available in the literature relating TTAD coefficients to micro-anatomical structure of the intestine, which is often referred to in studies on weaning piglets, in which the structural aspects of the intestine have not necessarily reached 'mature' morphology (Salgado et al, 2002;Liu et al, 2008). Regardless of animalrelated factors (i.e.…”

“…Comparative studies involving the morphology of the GIT and TTAD coefficients have been often referred to the weaning period, which is a critical stage for the health and survival of the piglet (Salgado et al, 2002;Liu et al, 2008). However, to our knowledge, no information is available in the literature relating the intestinal morphology and structure of the GIT and possible digestive variation between pig genotypes at higher stages of growth.…”