Animals (Jul 2024)

<i>Clostridium butyricum</i> Probiotic Feed Additive: Modulation of Sow Milk Metabolomics and Mitigation of Pre-Weaning Piglet Diarrhea

  • Jakavat Ruampatana,
  • Junpen Suwimonteerabutr,
  • Kunaporn Homyog,
  • Wanwimon Mekboonsonglarp,
  • Korntip Kanjanavaikoon,
  • Wouter Van der Veken,
  • Sutthasinee Poonyachoti,
  • Takele Feyera,
  • Sarn Settachaimongkon,
  • Morakot Nuntapaitoon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142098
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 14
p. 2098

Abstract

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The present study aimed to investigate the impact of Clostridium butyricum probiotic feed additive on sow and piglet performances, together with alterations in the lipidomic and metabolomic profiles of sow milk. Sixty-four Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred sows and 794 piglets were included. Sows were divided into two groups; i.e., (i) conventional gestation diet (control; n = 35) and (ii) conventional diet added with 10 g/sow/day of probiotic C. butyricum spores (treatment; n = 29) from one week before the estimated farrowing day until weaning (29.6 ± 4.8 days). The sow and piglet performances and incidence of piglet diarrhea were recorded. Changes in gross chemical composition, fatty acid and non-volatile polar metabolite profiles of sow colostrum, transient milk and mature milk were evaluated. The results showed that relative backfat loss in the treatment group (−2.3%) was significantly lower than in control group (11.6%), especially in primiparous sows (p = 0.019). The application of C. butyricum probiotics in sows significantly reduced the incidence of diarrhea in piglets (p C. butyricum probiotics. In conclusion, the use of C. butyricum probiotics in sows may improve sow body condition and reduce diarrhea incidence in piglets, with underlying changes in milk composition that warrant further investigation. These findings support the potential of C. butyricum as a beneficial feed additive in swine production.

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