Dietary supplementation of laminarin improves the reproductive performance of sows and the growth of suckling pigletsOA

Background Maternal nutrition is essential in keeping a highly efficient production system in the pig industry. Laminarin has been shown to improve antioxidant capacity, reduce the inflammatory response, and favor the homeostasis of intestinal microbiota. However, the effect of dietary supplementation of laminarin on the reproductive performance of sows and the growth of suckling offspring remains unknown.Methods A total of 40 Landrace × Yorkshire multiparous sows on d 85 of gestation, similar i...     

Dietary oregano aqueous extract improves growth performance and intestinal health of broilers through modulating gut microbial compositionsOA

Background Intestinal health plays a pivotal role in broiler chicken growth. Oregano aqueous extract(OAE) effectively exerts anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. However, the protective effects of OAE on intestinal health in broilers and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of OAE on growth performance, the gut microbiota and intestinal health. A total of 840 1-d-old male and female broilers(Arbor Acres) were randomly allocated in...     

Alterations in intestinal microbiota composition coincide with impaired intestinal morphology and dysfunctional ileal immune response in growing-finishing pigs under constant chronic heat stressOA

Background: Previous studies had shown that short-term acute heat stress(HS) affected the host’s metabolism and intestinal microbiota independent of feed intake(FI) reduction, and long-term calorie restriction caused intestinal morphological injuries and gut microbial alterations. However, research on the effects of constant chronic HS on intestinal microbial composition and the roles of FI reduction played in is limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of 7-day constant chronic HS o...     

Dietary oregano essential oil supplementation improves intestinal functions and alters gut microbiota in latephase laying hensOA

Background: Dietary essential oil(EO) supplementation can exert favorable effects on gut health in broilers. However,it is unknown whether EO could improve intestinal functions, consequently beneficial for egg performance and quality in late-phase laying hens. This study was aimed to investigate the potential effects of EO on production performance,egg quality, intestinal health and ileal microbiota of hens in the late phase of production. A total of 288 60-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens wer...     

Predicting the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs based on net energy and digestible lysine intake using multiple regression and artificial neural networks modelsOA

Backgrounds: Evaluating the growth performance of pigs in real-time is laborious and expensive, thus mathematical models based on easily accessible variables are developed. Multiple regression(MR) is the most widely used tool to build prediction models in swine nutrition, while the artificial neural networks(ANN) model is reported to be more accurate than MR model in prediction performance. Therefore, the potential of ANN models in predicting the growth performance of pigs was evaluated and comp...     

Effect of sialyllactose on growth performance and intestinal epithelium functions in weaned pigs challenged by enterotoxigenic Escherichia ColiOA

Background: Sialyllactose(SL) is one of the most abundant oligosaccharides present in porcine breast milk.However, little is known about its effect on growth performance and intestinal health in weaned pigs. This study was conducted to explore the protective effect of SL on intestinal epithelium in weaned pigs upon enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC) challenge.Methods: Thirty-two pigs were randomly divided into four treatments. Pigs fed with a basal diet or basal diet containing SL(5.0 g/kg) ...     

The synbiotic mixture of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans protects intestinal barrier dysfunction and apoptosis in weaned piglets challenged with lipopolysaccharideOA

Background Lactulose as an effective prebiotic protects intestinal mucosal injury. Bacillus coagulans is widely used in feed additives because of its ability to promote intestinal health. Our previous study suggests that the combination of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans may be a good candidate as alternative for antibiotic growth promoters. However,the in vivo effects of lactulose and Bacillus coagulans on growth and intestinal health under immune challenge in piglets remains unclear. The obje...     

Intrauterine growth retardation affects liver bile acid metabolism in growing pigs:effects associated with the changes of colonic bile acid derivativesOA

Background:Intrauterine growth retardation(IUGR) is associated with severely impaired nutrient metabolism and intestinal development of pigs.Our previous study found that IUGR altered intestinal microbiota and metabolites in the colon.However,the consequences of IUGR on bile acid metabolism in pigs remained unclear.The present study aimed to investigate the bile acid metabolism in the liver and the profile of bile acid derivatives in the colon of growing pigs with IUGR using bile acid targeted m...     

Effects of supplemental xylanase and xylooligosaccharides on production performance and gut health variables of broiler chickensOA

Background: This study evaluated the effects of supplemental xylanase and xylooligosaccharides(XOS) in a cornsoybean meal(SBM)-based diet on growth performance and intestinal health of broilers. A total of 288 day-old chicks(Cobb 500) were allocated to 36 floor pens(8 birds/pen) equally in 9 dietary treatments in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement. The treatments were combinations of 3 levels of xylanase(0, 0.005% and 0.01% Econase XT) and 3 levels of prebiotics(0, 0.005% and 0.01% XOS) added to basa...     

Effects of lactic acid bacteria-fermented formula milk supplementation on ileal microbiota,transcriptomic profile,and mucosal immunity in weaned pigletsOA

Background:Lactic acid bacteria(LAB) participating in milk fermentation naturally release and enrich the fermented dairy product with a broad range of bioactive metabolites,which has numerous roles in the intestinal health-promoting of the consumer.However,information is lacking regarding the application prospect of LAB fermented milk in the animal industry.This study investigated the effects of lactic acid bacteria-fermented formula milk(LFM) on the growth performance,intestinal immunity,microb...     

Comparative effects of soy protein concentrate,enzyme-treated soybean meal,and fermented soybean meal replacing animal protein supplements in feeds on growth performance and intestinal health of nursery pigsOA

Background Soy protein supplements, with high crude protein and less antinutritional factors, are produced from soybean meal by different processes. This study evaluated the comparative effects of various soy protein supplements replacing animal protein supplements in feeds on the intestinal immune status, intestinal oxidative stress, mucosaassociated microbiota, and growth performance of nursery pigs.Methods Sixty nursery pigs(6.6 ± 0.5 kg BW) were allotted to five treatments in a randomized co...     

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ameliorates DON-induced intestinal damage depending on the enrichment of beneficial bacteria in weaned pigletsOA

Background: Deoxynivalenol(DON) is one of the most common environmental pollutants that induces intestinal inflammation and microbiota dysbiosis. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG(LGG) is a probiotic that not only has anti-inflammatory effects, but also shows protective effect on the intestinal barrier. However, it is still unknown whether LGG exerts beneficial effects against DON-induced intestinal damage in piglets. In this work, a total of 36 weaned piglets were randomized to one of four treatment g...     

Ginkgo biloba extract alleviates fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome in laying hens via reshaping gut microbiotaOA

Background Ginkgo biloba extract(GBE) is evidenced to be effective in the prevention and alleviation of metabolic disorders, including obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease. However, the role of GBE in alleviating fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome(FLHS) in laying hens and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the effects of GBE on relieving FLHS with an emphasis on the modulatory role of GBE in chicken gut microbiota.Results The results showed that GBE treat...     

Pretreatment with probiotics Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 11181 attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium-induced gut injury through modulating intestinal microbiome and immune responses with barrier function in broiler chickensOA

Background:Preventing Salmonella infection and colonization in young birds is key to improving poultry gut health and reducing Salmonella contamination of poultry products and decreasing salmonellosis for human consumption(poultry meat and eggs).Probiotics can improve poultry health.The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of a probiotics,Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 11181(E.faecium NCIMB 11181) on the intestinal mucosal immune responses,microbiome and barrier function in the pres...     

Effects of dietary oil sources and fat extraction methods on apparent and standardized ileal digestibility of fat and fatty acids in growing pigsOA

Background:There is a lack of data for the standardized ileal digestibility(SID) of fat and fatty acids in national feed databases.In addition,it is important to specify the procedures used for fat analyses.Therefore,an experiment was conducted to 1) determine the apparent ileal digestibility(AID) and SID of fat and fatty acids in ten different oil sources for growing pigs and to develop prediction equations for SID of fat based on fatty acid composition;and 2) compare the effect of the fat extr...     

Supplementation of oligosaccharide-based polymer enhanced growth and disease resistance of weaned pigs by modulating intestinal integrity and systemic immunityOA

Background: There is a great demand for antibiotic alternatives to maintain animal health and productivity. The objective of this experiment was to determine the efficacy of dietary supplementation of a blood group A6 type 1antigen oligosaccharides-based polymer(Coligo) on growth performance, diarrhea severity, intestinal health, and systemic immunity of weaned pigs experimentally infected with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC), when compared with antibiotics.Results: Pigs in antibiotic ...     

Microencapsulated essential oils combined with organic acids improves immune antioxidant capacity and intestinal barrier function as well as modulates the hindgut microbial community in pigletsOA

Background: The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of a combination of microencapsulated essential oils and organic acids(MOA) on growth performance, immuno-antioxidant status, intestinal barrier function and microbial structure of the hindgut in piglets. A total of 120 piglets(Duroc × [Landrace × Yorkshire];weighted 7.66 ± 1.79 kg, weaned at d 28) were randomly selected and allocated to 3 treatments with 4 replicates per group and 10 piglets per replicate according to the i...     

Bacillus licheniformis PF9 improves barrier function and alleviates inflammatory responses against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4 infection in the porcine intestinal epithelial cellsOA

Background: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC) F4 commonly colonizes the small intestine and releases enterotoxins that impair the intestinal barrier function and trigger inflammatory responses. Although Bacillus licheniformis(B. licheniformis) has been reported to enhance intestinal health, it remains to be seen whether there is a functional role of B. licheniformis in intestinal inflammatory response in intestinal porcine epithelial cell line(IPEC-J2) when stimulated with ETEC F4.Methods: ...     

Gut health,stress, and immunity in neonatal dairy calves: the host side of host-pathogen interactions

The cumulative evidence that perinatal events have long-lasting ripple effects through the life of livestock animals should impact future nutritional and management recommendations at the farm level. The implications of fetal programming due to malnutrition, including neonatal survival and lower birth weights, have been characterized,particularly during early and mid-gestation, when placental and early fetal stages are being developed. The accelerated fetal growth during late pregnancy has been known for some time, while the impact of maternal stressors during this time on fetal development and by extent its postnatal repercussions on health and performance are still being defined.Maternal stressors during late pregnancy cannot only influence colostrogenesis but also compromise adequate intestinal development in the fetus, thus, that further limits the newborn's ability to absorb nutrients, bioactive compounds, and immunity(i.e., immunoglobulins, cytokines, and immune cells) from colostrum. These negative effects set the newborn calf to a challenging start in life by compromising passive immunity and intestinal maturation needed to establish a mature postnatal mucosal immune system while needing to digest and absorb nutrients in milk or milk replacer. Besides the dense-nutrient content and immunity in colostrum, it contains bioactive compounds such as growth factors, hormones, and cholesterol as well as molecular signals or instructions [e.g., microRNAs(miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)] transferred from mother to offspring with the aim to influence postnatal gut maturation. The recent change in paradigm regarding prenatal materno-fetal microbiota inoculation and likely the presence of microbiota in the developing fetus intestine needs to be addressed in future research in ruminants. There still much to know on what prenatal or postnatal factors may predispose neonates to become susceptible to enteropathogens(e.g., enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli), causing diarrhea. From the host-side of this host-pathogen interaction, molecular data such as fecal RNA could, over time, help fill those gaps in knowledge. In addition, merging this novel fecal RNA approach with more established microbiome techniques can provide a more holistic picture of an enteropathogenesis and potentially uncover control points that can be addressed through management or nutrition at the farm level to minimize preweaning morbidity and mortality.     

Insights into the proteomic profile of newly harvested corn and metagenomic analysis of the broiler intestinal microbiotaOA

Background: The use of newly harvested corn in feed causes wet droppings in broilers and increased feed cost which was termed as “new season grain problem”. The present study was conducted to evaluate the proteomic profile of newly harvested corn and the subsequent influence on intestinal microbiol community for broiler chickens.Methods: Newly harvested corn stored for either half a month(HM) or two months(TM) was used, and the pasting properties, total soluble sugars, and proteomic analysis tec...