353 Effects of Lactobacillus-fermented barley on intestinal morphology, cytokine gene expression, and fecal microbiota in weaned pigs challenged with Escherichia coli K88+.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of Lactobacillus-fermented barley on gut health in weaned pigs challenged with Escherichia coli K88⁺. Thirty-seven piglets were weaned at 21 d of age (6.41 ± 0.47 kg of body weight) and assigned to one of five treatments: 1) unchallenged control (UCC; n = 7), 2) challenged control (CC; n = 7), 3) AGP (CC + 0.05% antibacterial growth promotor; n = 7), 4) Ferm1 (challenged and fed fermented barley; n = 8), and 5) Ferm2 (challenged and fed fermented barley; n = 8). Barley was fermented with either Lactobacillus plantarum or L. buchneri for 90 d under anaerobic conditions for Ferm1 and Ferm2, respectively. Control diets included unfermented barley. On d 10, all pigs in the challenged group were orally inoculated with E. coli K88⁺ (6 × 10⁹ colony forming unit/mL). Fecal samples were collected at 6, 24, and 48 h post-challenge for microbial profile, whereas intestinal tissue samples were collected on d 13. The pre-planned orthogonal test was performed to compare 1) UCC and CC, 2) CC and AGP, and 3) CC and Ferm1 + Ferm2. Challenged control pigs showed shorter (P < 0.05) villus height in the duodenum and greater (P < 0.05) crypt depth in the jejunum than UCC pigs. The AGP supplementation increased (P < 0.05) villus height and reduced (P < 0.05) IL-6 gene expression in the jejunum. Pigs in Ferm1 and Ferm2 had decreased (P < 0.05) crypt depth in the duodenum and IL-6 gene expression in the jejunum than those in UCC. Greater (P < 0.05) fecal abundances of Lactobacillus was shown in pigs in Ferm1 + Ferm2 compared to pigs in CC. In conclusion, the inclusion of fermented barley in the nursery diet enhanced indices of gut health by positively modulating the immune responses and gut bacteria.