title: Administration of loperamide and addition of wheat bran to the diets of weaner pigs decrease the incidence of diarrhoea and enhance their gut maturation.
abstract: The influence of fibre inclusion and transit time regulation on the performance, health status, microbial activity and population, physico-chemical characteristics of the hindgut digesta and intestinal morphology in early weaned pigs were examined. For these experiments, wheat bran (WB) was used as fibre source and loperamide as a drug (LOP) to increase the digesta transit time. In Expt 1, a total of 128 early weaned pigs were randomly distributed in a 2 x 2 factorial combination of WB inclusion (0 v. 40 g/kg) and LOP administration (0 v. 0.07 mg/kg body weight) during 13 d. For Expt 2, a total of twenty-four piglets were allotted to three dietary treatments for 15 d with the same basal diet (control diet) as Expt 1; a diet with 80 g/kg of WB and the combination of WB and LOP. In Expt 1, LOP improved the average daily feed intake and average daily gain of the animals (P = 0.001 and 0.007, respectively). The same result was obtained when WB was combined with LOP. The WB-LOP group also showed a higher concentration of SCFA (P = 0.013), acetic acid (P = 0.004) and propionic acid (P = 0.093). On the other hand, WB inclusion reduced the organic matter and crude protein digestibility (P = 0.001) and tended to decrease the enterobacteria population (P = 0.089). In Expt 2, WB increased the butyric acid concentration (P = 0.086). We concluded that the inclusion of WB to modify the intestinal microbiota activity combined with LOP may be beneficial to animal health and performance.
authors.affiliation: Grup de Nutrició, Maneig i Benestar Animal, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Molist Gasa
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ywazaki
authors.forename: Arantza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gómez de Segura Ugalde
authors.forename: Rafael Gustavo
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Hermes
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gasa Gasó
authors.forename: José Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pérez Hernández
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D020148:Butyric Acid / Q000032:analysis; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D004032:Diet; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004063:Digestion; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000254:growth & development; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000032:analysis; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D005285:Fermentation; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit; D007422:Intestines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology; D008139:Loperamide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011422:Propionates / Q000032:analysis; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014886:Weaning; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D000930:Antidiarrheals; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D011422:Propionates; D020148:Butyric Acid; D008139:Loperamide; C029658:propionic acid; D019342:Acetic Acid