Abstract
Corn bran (CB) has been used as an ingredient for pigs, but the underlying mechanisms that improve gut health is less clear. This study was conducted to investigate effects of dietary CB on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma indices related to gut hormones and immunity, gut microbiota composition, and fermentation products in weaned pigs. A total of 60 weaned pigs were allocated to two dietary treatments, and piglets in each group received control (CON) diet or 5% CB diet for 28 days. Growth performance, nutrient digestibility, indices of gut hormones and immunity in plasma were evaluated. Microbiota composition in feces was determined using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and fermentation products were measured by high-performance ion chromatography. The results showed that dietary CB did not affect growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gut hormones, or fermentation products in the trial (P > 0.05). There was an increased response to CB inclusion on interleukin-10 production (P < 0.05). On day 28, piglets fed dietary CB had a higher shannon index (P < 0.05). The population of the Firmicutes in CB treatment were decreased (P < 0.05), while the percentage of the Bacteroidetes were increased (P < 0.05). In particular, the populations of Eubacterium corprostanoligenes, Pevotella, and Fibrobacter related to polysaccharide fermentation of cereal bran were increased (P < 0.05). In conclusion, a post-weaning diet containing 5% CB increased intestinal microbial diversity, especially higher richness of fibrolytic bacteria, and promoted anti-inflammatory response to some extent in piglets, these changes should facilitate the adaptation of the digestive system of piglets in the subsequent growing phases.
Highlights
Dietary fiber (DF) plays important roles in improving immune defense and maintaining microbial ecosystem (Martens, 2016; Daien et al, 2017)
There were no differences in average daily feed intake (ADFI), Average daily gain (ADG), and Feed conversion ratio (FCR) between CON and Corn bran (CB) groups on days 14, 28, or throughout the trial (P > 0.05)
To verify the status of macronutrient absorption, the apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients of gross energy (GE), dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and total DF (TDF) were measured when CB was included in diet (Table 2)
Summary
Dietary fiber (DF) plays important roles in improving immune defense and maintaining microbial ecosystem (Martens, 2016; Daien et al, 2017). SCFAs can bind to the G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs) that are expressed on both intestinal epithelium and immune cells (Daien et al, 2017) These bacterial metabolites stimulate the release of the anorectic gut hormones such as glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY via activation of GPR43 on enteroendocrine L-cells to exploit the important role in modulating appetite and gut motility (Chambers et al, 2015). The observed effects of DF on animal growth are not consistent due to diverse microbiota-accessible carbohydrates used in different studies Soluble fiber, such as sugar-beet pulp, can reduce feed intake due to increases of mucus viscosity and digesta transit time (Montagne et al, 2012). Animal growth and macronutrient absorption should be highly considered when diet intervention was carried out in domestic animals
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