Moving away from in-feed antibiotics
The HEALTHYPIGUT project was involved not only in the assessment of available courses of action, but also in the study of the molecular processes involved in pig gut immunity. Project partner Wageningnen University examined dietary effects and the impact of sugar-based energy sources on microbial activity in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The diets that were examined were completely free of antibiotics and copper additives. One diet type contained sugar beet pulp and wheat starch, whereas the other did not include any fermentable carbohydrates (CHOs). A total of 24 piglets were included in the study. The study results indicated that the microbial composition and activity of GIT is affected by dietary elements. CHOs used as prebiotics resulted in a significant increase in lactobacilli counts in piglet GITs. Overall, it was shown that the use of fermentable carbohydrates in the diet of weaning piglets favoured microbial diversity in the colon. Furthermore, it was established that a carefully formulated CHO-based diet can result in positive changes in the microbial population of pig GITs. These observations can be useful in the search of suitable alternatives to antibiotics and as such are important from both a scientific and commercial point of view.
