Dietary Zinc-Loaded Montmorillonite Supplementation Improves Growth Performance, Diarrhea, Intestinal Barrier Function and Regulating Gut Microbiota in Weaned Piglets
Mingxing Huang,
Jiang Yi,
Hua Chen,
Yuehui Song,
Xinyue Hu,
Hua Zhou,
Nianhua Zhu
Affiliations
Mingxing Huang
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Jiang Yi
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Hua Chen
College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Yuehui Song
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Xinyue Hu
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Hua Zhou
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Nianhua Zhu
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
This experiment was conducted to investigate whether low-dose zinc-loaded montmorillonite (Zn-MMT) could be used as a potential alternative for high-dose conventional ZnO in preventing diarrhea in weaned piglets. In total, 180 piglets were randomly divided to receive either of the three treatments, with six replicates per treatment and 10 piglets per replicate. The treatments were the control group (CT), the Zn-MMT group (ZM), and the ZnO group (ZO). Compared with the CT group, the ZM and ZO groups exhibited increased ADG at 14–28 days and during the whole period (p p p p p p p < 0.05). 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis revealed that the abundances of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria in the ileum and the populations of Ruminnococcus and Faecalibacterium in the cecum were higher in the CT group than in the other two groups. Collectively, dietary addition of Zn from Zn-MMT was comparable to Zn from ZnO for increasing growth performance, alleviating diarrhea, as well as improving mucosal barrier integrity, and regulating the gut microbiota of weaned piglets.
