Effects Of Functional Oligosaccharides And Sodium Butyrate On Growth Performance And Intestinal Function In Weaned Piglets

In recent years,numerous studies have found that animal feed supplemented with functional additive,such as xylo-oligosaccharides(XOS),fructo-oligosaccharides(FOS)and sodium butyrate(SB)alone can improve animal growth performance,promote intestinal development and improve bacterial population balance.However,it is still unclear which additive is the best and the most cost-effective,and it's worth exploring whether the combination additives play a greater role.To investigate the effects of different ratios of XOS,FOS and SB on growth performance and intestinal function in weaned piglets,about 7.8 kg three-way hybrid weaned healthy piglets were selected as the research objects.The experiment was divided into two stages.The first stage was divided into 7 groups,and each group has 10 weaned piglets.The experiments repeated 3 times,and a total of 210 heads were used.That is,group 1 is a blank group and only basal diets are fed;group 2 to group 7 added 0.01%XOS,0.02%XOS,0.04%XOS,0.2%FOS,0.4%FOS and 0.6% FOS to the basal diet,respectively.The second stage test was divided into 4 groups,and each group has 10 weaned piglets.The experiments repeated 3 times,and a total of 120 heads were used.That is,group 8 was only fed the basic diet to piglets.In group 9 and group 10,0.1% SB and 0.02%XOS were added to the basis of basic diet,respectively.In group 11,0.1% SB and 0.02% XOS were added into the basis of basic diet together.The formal trial period for each stage was 30 days.The daily feed intake,daily gain,and diarrhea were recorded for the experimental piglets.After the feeding experiment,one piglet from every group was selected for anesthetized and slaughtered.Intestine samples were collected,gut microbiota,pH value and intestinal mucosal immune proteins of the piglets were analyzed.The main findings are as follows:Effect of XOS and FOX on growth performance and intestinal function of weaned piglets: added a certain proportion of XOS or FOS to the diet can increase the daily feed intake and daily gain of the piglet.The ratio of feed to weight increased first and then decreased with the increasing of XOS or FOS content,which reached lowest(1.50:1)when the XOS content was 0.02%.Moreover,the appropriate amount of XOS significantly reduced the incidence of diarrhea in weaned piglets(P<0.05),while excessive XOS(0.04%)and FOX(0.6%)may have the opposite effects.Although different content of functional oligosaccharides have little effect on the intestinal pH of piglets,it can significantly promote the proliferation of bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacillus in the intestine and restrain the number of escherichia coli(P<0.001).XOS or FOS also significantly increased the IgA levels in the jejunum and colon mucosa of weaned piglets(P<0.001).With respect to the growth performance and intestinal function,0.02% content of XOS is most appropriate.Effect of XOS in combination with SB on growth performance and intestinal function of weaned piglets: When added 0.1% content of SB or 0.1% content of SB and 0.02% content of XOS into the basal diet,the daily feed intake and daily gain of weaned piglets increased significantly(P<0.01).The effect mainly occurred in the early weaning(0-20 days).During the trial,the ratio of feed to weight decreased,and the diarrhea situation improved significantly(P<0.001).Moreover,the number of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus in the piglet's intestine increased significantly and escherichia coli decreased significantly(P<0.001).The use of SB alone or in combination with XOS had no significant effect on the pH of caecum,colon,and rectum.However,the levels of lgA in jejunum and colon mucosa of weaned piglets were significantly increased(P<0.05),while no significant effect on the expression of lgG and lgM.Among them,the combination of 0.10% content of SB and 0.02% content of XOS were particularly effective,but there was no interaction between them.This study have shown that the addition of XOS,FOS and SB,especially XOS used in combination with SB to the diets of weaned piglets can significantly improve growth performance and feed utilization of weaned piglets,optimize intestinal flora,increase immunity,reduce diarrhea,and increase economic benefits.Our results provided a reference for the appropriate combination of XOS and SB in weaned piglet diets.