Effects of Clostridium butyricum on growth performance, metabonomics and intestinal microbial differences of weaned piglets

Abstract

Background Weaning stress of piglets causes a huge economic loss to the pig industry. Balance and stability of the intestinal microenvironment is an effective way to reduce the occurance of stress during the weaning process. Clostridium butyricum, as a new microecological preparation, is resistant to high temperature, acid, bile salts and some antibiotics. The aim of present study is to investigate the effects of C. butyricum on the intestinal microbiota and their metabolites in weaned piglets. Results There was no statistical significance in the growth performance and the incidence of diarrhoea among the weaned piglets treated with C. butyricum during 0–21 days experimental period. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing results showed that the operational taxonomic units (OTUs), abundance-based coverage estimator (ACE) and Chao index of the CB group were found to be significantly increased compared with the NC group (P < 0.05). Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Tenericutes were the predominant bacterial phyla in the weaned piglets. A marked increase in the relative abundance of Megasphaera, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group and Prevotellaceae_UCG-003, along with a decreased relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 was observed in the CB group, when compared with the NC group (P < 0.05). With the addition of C. butyricum, a total of twenty-two significantly altered metabolites were obtained in the feces of piglets. The integrated pathway analysis by MetaboAnalyst indicated that arginine and proline metabolism; valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis; and phenylalanine metabolism were the main three altered pathways, based on the topology. Furthermore, Spearman’s analysis revealed some altered gut microbiota genus such as Oscillospira, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group, Megasphaera, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, Prevotella_2, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and Prevotellaceae_UCG-003 were associated with the alterations in the fecal metabolites (P < 0.05), indicating that C. butyricum presented a potential protective impact through gut microbiota. The intestinal metabolites changed by C. butyricum mainly involved the variation of citrulline, dicarboxylic acids, branched-chain amino acid and tryptophan metabolic pathways. Conclusions Overall, this study strengthens the idea that the dietary C. butyricum treatment can significantly alter the intestinal microbiota and metabolite profiles of the weaned piglets, and C. butyricum can offer potential benefits for the gut health.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation With Clostridium butyricum on Growth Performance, Apparent Digestibility, Blood Metabolites, Ruminal Fermentation and Bacterial Communities of Fattening Goats

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of dietary C. butyricum supplementation in a high-concentrate diet on growth performance in fattening goats. The results showed no significant improvement in daily gain, which is consistent with the results for weaned piglets, in which no significant improvement in growth performance was found during the 21-day observation period ( 27 , 28 ). However, we found that most of the studies on the growth performance of C. butyricum in monogastric animals reported beneficial results ( 29 ).…”

“…The rumen pH was significantly increased with the increase in C. butyricum dose in the HCB group compared with the LCB group. Recent studies have shown that C. butyricum protects intestinal barrier function and the immune response by regulating the microbiome ( 12 , 27 , 36 , 37 ). To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the microbiota of goats fed C. butyricum .…”

Effect of Dietary Clostridium butyricum Supplementation on Growth Performance, Intestinal Barrier Function, Immune Function, and Microbiota Diversity of Pekin Ducks

“…Results also revealed that the ADG of group CB400 increased significantly (p < 0.05) in comparison with group Con; and the FCR of group CB200 and group CB400 reduced significantly (p < 0.05) in comparison with results for group Con (Table 2). 1 Means with different superscript letters indicate that there are significant differences (p < 0.05) between any two groups in the same row. 2 ABW: average body weight, ADG: average daily gain, ADFI: average daily feed intake, FCR: feed conversion ratio, Group Con: the control group, Group A150: the aureomycin group.…”

“…On day 42, the concentrations of acetate in group CB400 and CB600, propionate in group CB400, butyrate in group CB400 and A150, iso-butyrate and iso-valerate in all groups increased (p <0.05) significantly in comparison with group Con (Table 3). 1 Means with different superscript letters indicate that there are significant differences (p < 0.05) between any two groups in the same row, Group Con: the control group, Group A150: the aureomycin group. 2 Total SEM (N = 10).…”

“…Probiotics have been found to be able to improve digestive function and prevent leaky intestines or intestinal inflammation. Clostridium butyricum ( C. butyricum ) is considered a Gram-positive obligate anaerobic probiotic which can produce butyric acid and form endospores, and has been documented as normal intestinal flora of healthy animals [ 1 ]. C. butyricum can tolerate high bile, high temperature environments, and acidic environments of the digestive tract, thus, it can be used as an effective feed additive [ 2 ].…”