In-feed nutritional additive probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii RC009 can substitute for prophylactic antibiotics and improve the production and health of weaning pigs

Vet World Vol.16 May-2023 Article-16

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(5): 1035-1042

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.1035-1042

Julián Parada^1,2, Alejandra Magnoli^2,3, Maite Corti Isgro^1,2, Valeria Poloni^2,3, Analía Fochesato^2,3, María Pía Martínez^2,3, Alicia Carranza¹, and Lilia Cavaglieri^2,3

1. Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary, National University of Rio Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina.
2. National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Córdoba, Argentina.
3. Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary, National University of Rio Cuarto, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina.

Background and Aim: Non-therapeutic antibiotic use is associated with the current decrease in antibiotic therapeutic efficiency and the emergence of a wide range of resistant strains, which constitutes a public health risk. This study aimed to evaluate the use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii RC009 as a nutritional feed additive to substitute the prophylactic use of antibiotics and improve the productive performance and health of post-weaning piglets.

Materials and Methods: Four regular nutritional phases were prepared. Post-weaning pigs (21-70 days old) received one of two dietary treatments: T1-basal diet (BD-control group) with in-feed antibiotics as a prophylactic medication (one pulse of Tiamulin in P3 and one pulse of Amoxicillin in P4); and T2-BD without in-feed antibiotics but with Saccharomyces boulardii RC009 (1 × 1012 colony forming unit/T feed). The feed conversion ratio (FCR), total weight gain (TWG-kg), and daily weight gain (DWG-kg) were determined. A post-weaning growth index (GI) was calculated and animals (160 days old) from each treatment were analyzed at the abattoir after sacrifice for carcass weight and respiratory tract lesions.

Results: Pigs consuming probiotics had higher TWG and DWG than the control group. The group of animals with low body weight obtained the same results. Saccharomyces boulardii administration decreased diarrhea, and FCR reduction was related to a GI improvement. A significant increase in carcass weight and muscle thickness reduction was observed in animals received the probiotic post-weaning.

Conclusion: Saccharomyces boulardii RC009, a probiotic additive, was found to improve the production parameters of pigs post-weaning and enhance their health status, indicating that it may be a promising alternative to prophylactic antibiotics. Keywords: nutritional feed additive, post-weaning pig, prophylactic antibiotics, Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii RC009.

Keywords: nutritional feed additive, post-weaning pig, prophylactic antibiotics, Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii RC009.

How to cite this article: Parada J, Magnoli A, Isgro MC, Poloni V, Fochesato A, Martínez MP, Carranza A, and Cavaglieri L (2023) In-feed nutritional additive probiotic

Received: 22-12-2022 Accepted: 05-04-2023 Published online: 15-05-2023

Corresponding author: E-mail: jparada@ayv.unrc.edu.ar

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1035-1042

Copyright: Parada, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.