Microbial activity in the gut of piglets: I. Effect of prebiotic and probiotic supplementation

Four groups of six 21 days-old piglets were used to evaluate the effect of a prebiotic or probiotic on the intestinal fermentative activity. In each group, piglets received one of the following diets: basal diet (C); basal diet supplemented with xylo-oligosaccharide (C-XOS); basal diet supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (C-SC); and basal diet supplemented with xylo-oligosaccharide and S. cerevisiae (C-XOS + SC).

The short chain fatty acids in the colon of piglets were decreased with the inclusion of S. cerevisiae in the diet (P < 0.01). The xylanolytic activity was higher (P < 0.05) in the small intestine of piglets fed C-XOS + SC diet, but no significant differences were found in the caecum and colon. In the caecum contents, the cellulolytic activity was increased (P < 0.05) by the C-XOS and C-SC diets, but remained similar when the diet was supplemented with the two additives combined.