Effects of different forms of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on growth performance, intestinal development, and systemic immunity in early-weaned piglets

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine effects of different forms of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, strain Y200007) on the growth performance, intestinal development, and systemic immunity in early-weaned piglets. A total of 96 piglets (14-d old, initial average body weight of 4.5 kg) were assigned to 4 dietary treatments: (1) basal diet without yeast (Control); (2) basal diet supplemented with 3.00 g/kg live yeast (LY); (3) basal diet supplemented with 2.66 g/kg heat-killed whole yeast (HKY); and (4) basal diet supplemented with 3.00 g/kg superfine yeast powders (SFY). Diets and water were provided ad libitum to the piglets during 3-week experiment. Growth performance of piglets was measured weekly. Samples of blood and small intestine were collected at days 7 and 21 of experiment. Dietary supplementation with LY and SFY improved G:F of piglets at days 1-21 of the experiment (P < 0.05) compared to Control group. Serum concentrations of growth hormone (GH), triiodothyronine (T3), tetraiodothyronine (T4), and insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in piglets at day 21 of the experiment were higher when fed diets supplemented with LY and SFY than those in Control group (P < 0.05). Compared to Control group, contents of serum urea nitrogen of piglets were reduced by the 3 yeast-supplemented diets (P < 0.05). Diets supplemented with LY increased villus height and villus-to-crypt ratio in duodenum and jejunum of piglets (P < 0.05) compared to other two groups at day 7 of the experiment. Feeding diets supplemented with LY and SFY increased (P < 0.05) serum concentrations of IgA, IL-2, and IL-6 levels in piglets compared to Control. The CD4+/CD8+ ratio and proliferation of T-lymphocytes in piglets fed diets supplemented with LY were increased compared to that of Control group at day 7 of the experiment (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with both LY and SFY enhanced feed conversion, small intestinal development, and systemic immunity in early-weaned piglets, with better improvement in feed conversion by dietary supplementation with LY, while dietary supplementation with SFY was more effective in increasing systemic immune functions in early-weaned piglets.

Saccharomyces cerevisiaeas a probiotic feed additive to non and pseudo‐ruminant feeding: a review

“…The benefits of intestinal health and immunomodulatory effects of yeast cells are important and represent the most likely benefits of supplementing pig diets with yeast (Liu et al ). Live yeast, finely ground live yeast and yeast fermentation products may lead to increased villus heights and villus‐to‐crypt ratios (Bontempo et al ; Shen et al ; Jiang et al ). Furthermore, significant longer villi and deeper crypts were found in the ileum of piglets receiving diets supplemented with S. cerevisiae spp.…”

“…In addition, the requirement for yeast extracts containing nucleotides may be increased under certain conditions, such as high stress, during disease, or rapid growth (Waititu et al ). The weaning itself causes villus atrophy and reduces replacement of enterocytes both of which inhibit the absorption of nutrients, a part of easing the transition around weaning of pigs involves preparing the intestine to change in diet form that caused a possible deficiency of nucleotides and in that case, yeast cells may be potentially beneficial (Jiang et al ).…”

“…Likewise, pigs fed on diets supplemented with live yeast and exposed to enterotoxigenic E. coli were observed to have reduced disease‐related stress, reduced diarrhoea scores, reduced duration of diarrhoea, and reduced shedding of E. coli (Trckova et al ). Jiang et al () reported that feeding of live yeast and finely ground live yeast increases serum concentrations of IgA, IL‐2 and IL‐6. The a‐D‐mannans in the yeast have potential antioxidant effects (Kogan and Kocher ).…”

Kluyveromyces fragilisRNA extract supplementation promotes growth, modulates stress and inflammatory response in zebrafish

“…Recent studies demonstrated the ability of nucleotides extracted from yeast to re‐governing intestinal microbiota and improving growth performance and health status in piglets, through the increase in IGF‐1 and GH (Jiang et al., ). Alternatively, IGF binding protein‐2 (IGFBP‐2) is a secreted protein that binds and reduces IGF actions in controlling growth, development, reproduction and aging (Zhou et al., ).…”

Multi‐strain yeast fraction product supplementation can alleviate weaning stress and improve performance and health of piglets raised under low sanitary conditions

“…The dietary supplementation of live yeast, yeast cultures, or yeast cell‐wall products has positively influenced the performance and health of weaned piglets by mitigating negative effects associated with stress and disease . Yeast or yeast‐based product supplementation has also been demonstrated to boost feed intake, augment mucosal immunity, promote intestinal development, modulate gut microbiota, and reduce post‐weaning diarrhea . The components of yeast cell walls, which are made up of β ‐ d ‐glucans and α ‐ d ‐mannans, are considered to be responsible for their positive effects .…”