Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Mushroom or Vitamin D₂-Enriched Mushroom Powders on Gastrointestinal Health Parameters in the Weaned Pig

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the molecular, physiological and microbial effects of mushroom powder (MP), vitamin D2 enriched mushroom powder (MPD2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) in pigs post-weaning. Pigs (four pigs/pen; 12 pens/treatment) were assigned to: (1) basal diet (control), (2) basal diet + ZnO, (3) basal diet + MP (2 g/kg feed) and (4) basal diet + MPD2 (2 g/kg feed). Zinc oxide supplementation improved the feed intake (p Lactobacillus (p p CXCL8; p IL6; p TNF; p SLC15A1; p FABP2; (p 2 improved the gastrointestinal morphology (p p IL10; p SLC15A1 (p FABP2 (p VDR; p p p p p SLC15A1 (p FABP2 (p CLDN1) (p p > 0.05). Furthermore, MP reduced ADFI (p p > 0.05). In conclusion, MP and MPD2 have limited use as commercial feed additives in replacing ZnO in pig diets as feed intake was reduced post-weaning.

Keywords

• pigs
• mushroom
• vitamin D
• inflammation
• microbiota
• β-glucan