Effects of Soybean Meal Fermented by Lactobacillus Species and Clostridium butyricum on Growth Performance, Diarrhea Incidence, and Fecal Bacteria in Weaning Piglets

Abstract

Fermented soybean meal (FSBM) has been widely investigated as a nutritional strategy for reducing the use of fish meal (FM) and antibiotic growth promoters. Microbial fermentation by using bacteria can increase the bioavailability of nutrients and reduce the levels of antinutritional factors in soybean meal (SBM). In this study, we evaluated whether FSBM produced from Lactobacillus species and Clostridium butyricum improves growth performance, diarrhea incidence, and fecal bacteria in weaning piglets. Eighty-four crossbred male piglets with an average initial body weight of 8.36±0.63 kg were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments consisting of 7 replicate stalls with 4 piglets each. The dietary treatments were: (1) 3% FM in the diet; (2) 5% FSBM in the diet; and (3) 3% FM in the diet plus 4 mg/kg antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). We determined that growth performance was unaffected in FSBM-fed weaning piglets compared with a FM group. Similar to the AGP group, FSBM supplementation significantly reduced diarrhea incidence in weaning piglets. The number of fecal Lactobacillus species significantly increased in 28-day-old FSBM-fed weaning piglets compared with the other groups. Compared with AGP, FSBM has the highest inhibitory effect on the number of fecal Enterobacteriaceae at 28 d old. Furthermore, serum immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A levels in FSBM-fed weaning piglets significantly increased at the same age. These results together indicate that FSBM can replace FM in the diets of weaning piglets without affecting growth performance. Furthermore, similar to AGP, FSBM could improve diarrhea incidence, fecal bacteria, and immunoglobulin levels in weaning piglets. Therefore, SBM fermented by Lactobacillus species and C. butyricum demonstrated high potential for development as swine feed ingredients.

Evaluation of Bacillus licheniformis-Fermented Feed Additive as an Antibiotic Substitute: Effect on the Growth Performance, Diarrhea Incidence, and Cecal Microbiota in Weaning Piglets

“…Levels 0 and 1 were considered normal, while levels 2 and 3 were considered diarrhea. The incidence of diarrhea in each pen was recorded daily and calculated as described previously [10]…”

“…It has been reported that in weaning piglets, probiotic supplementation in diets can have a similar effect to antibiotics [8]. The prevention of post-weaning diarrhea by the application of probiotics or probiotic-derived functional metabolites has also been investigated in weaning piglets [9][10][11]. Among the probiotic strains that have been studied, Bacillus licheniformis has been reported to have a strong ability to produce digestive enzymes and antimicrobial peptides that enhance nutrient utilization and inhibit pathogen growth [12][13][14].…”

Bacillus licheniformis-Fermented Products Reduce Diarrhea Incidence and Alter the Fecal Microbiota Community in Weaning Piglets

“…The diarrhea was defined as production of feces at level 2 or 3 for 2 continuous days. The piglets were considered to have diarrhea when the fecal consistency was level 2 or 3, as described previously by Cheng et al [14] and calculated as follows:…”

“…Probiotics can inhibit the growth of enteric pathogens and the development of subsequent diseases by producing antimicrobial substances in livestock [10][11][12][13]. A recent study reported that Lactobacillus species and Clostridium butyricum-fermented products alleviate diarrhea incidence and reduce the gut pathogens in weaning piglets [14]. Dietary Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis complex supplementation increase nutrient digestibility and fecal Lactobacillus counts in growing-finishing pigs [15].…”

Evaluation of antiviral activity of Bacillus licheniformis-fermented products against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

“…Probiotics is one of the choices to be an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter, AGP (Abudabos et al 2017). Our recent studies reported that Lactobacillus species and Clostridium butyricum -fermented probiotics product alleviate diarrhea incidence and reduce the gut pathogens in weaning piglets (Cheng et al 2019). On the other hand, Bacillus subtilis ( B. subtilis ) and B. licheniformis –fermented products could increase growth performance and mitigate Clostridium perfringens –induced necrotic enteritis in broilers (Cheng et al 2018; Lin et al 2019).…”