Dietary complex probiotic supplementation changed the composition of intestinal short-chain fatty acids and improved the average daily gain of weaned piglets.

ABSTRACT

Probiotics are a group of active microorganisms that form colonies within the body and alter the composition of the flora in a specific area to provide benefits to the host. In this study, a total of 96 Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weaned piglets with an initial body weight (BW) of 8.56 ± 0.53 kg were employed in a randomized complete block design for a 28-day experiment. Pigs were randomly divided into two treatment groups the control group (CON) and the complex probiotic group (CON + 0.2% probiotics), respectively. The study found that through the 28-day experiment, the average daily gain (ADG) of the complex probiotic group was significantly higher than that of the CON (p < 0.05). However, compared with the CON, the feed conversion efficiency significantly decreased on days 0-14 (p < 0.05). The addition of dietary complex probiotic significantly increased the villus height (VH) of duodenum and ileum, acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in feces, and decreased fecal methyl mercaptans, acetic acid, and CO2 (p < 0.05). It concluded that feeding weaned piglets 0.2% complex probiotic increased the VH of duodenum and ileum, as well as changed the content of SCFAs in feces. This ultimately led to an increase in ADG.