Dietary medium-chain fatty acid and Bacillus in combination alleviate weaning stress of piglets by regulating intestinal microbiota and barrier function.

Weaning is the most stressful stage in the growth of piglets. Weaning stress can reduce the feed intake of piglets, cause diarrhea and even death of piglets, and finally result in economic losses to livestock production. To alleviate the weaning stress of piglets after the prohibition of antibiotics in feed, this study evaluated the effect and mechanism of medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) and Bacillus in combination on regulating the intestinal microbiota balance and health status of weaned piglets. It was found that dietary MCFA and Bacillus in combination improved the intestinal barrier function of piglets by changing the intestinal microbial community and metabolic pathway encoded by bacteria, and finally alleviated the diarrhea rate in the early weaning stage and improved the growth performance in whole trial period. In addition, MCFA was effective in improving feed efficiency and antioxidant capacity of piglets.