Effects of oral supplementation with probiotics on the performance and gut health of suckling piglets from different genetic lines

The effects of the oral supplementation of probiotics on the performance (weight gain and feed intake) and intestinal histo-morphology of the duodenal, jejunal, and ileal mucosa (villus height, width, and perimeter and crypt depth) of two different genetic lines (purebred Large White or crossbred Large White x Landrace) of suckling piglets.

The suckling piglets were evaluated between 2 and 19 days of age. In total, 276 piglets were distributed according to a completely randomized experimental design in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement, with four replicates each. Treatments consisted of two genetic lines (130 purebred Large White and 146 crossbred Large White x Landrace piglets), two different probiotic products (probiotic bacteria or a combination of yeast and probiotic bacteria), and a control treatment (basal diet with no addition of antibiotics or growth promoters).

Probiotics increased the average daily weight gain (P=0.02), independently of genetic line, but did not influence (P> 0.05) average daily feed intake. Crossbred piglets presented higher average daily feed intake (P=0.03) than purebreds. The incidence of diarrhea was not significantly different (P> 0.05) among treatments. Intestinal histo-morphometric parameters were not influenced by genetic lines (P> 0.05). However, the piglets fed the probiotic products presented higher duodenal villi compared with the control (P=0.01).

The administration of probiotic bacteria to piglets promoted higher jejunal villus height and lower ileal villus height and perimeter. In addition, modern crossbred genetic lines of pigs may present different nutrient absorption efficiency when comparing to purebred lines. In conclusion, the suckling piglets can be supplemented with probiotics to improve the average daily weight gain, independently of genetic line.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.