title: The impact of high dietary zinc oxide on the development of the intestinal microbiota in weaned piglets.
abstract: Weaned piglets were fed diets containing 57 (low) or 2425 (high) mg kg(-1) analytical grade ZnO for a period of 5 weeks. Intestinal contents were sampled in weekly intervals and analyzed for bacterial cell numbers and main bacterial metabolites. The most severe effects of high dietary zinc were observed 1 week after weaning in the stomach and small intestine. Pronounced reductions were observed for Enterobacteriaceae and the Escherichia group as well as for Lactobacillus spp. and for three of five studied Lactobacillus species. The impact of high dietary zinc diminished for enterobacteria with increasing age, but was permanent for Lactobacillus species. Bifidobacteria, enterococci, streptococci, Weissella spp. and Leuconostoc spp. as well as the Bacteroides-Prevotella-Porphyromonas group were not influenced by high dietary zinc throughout the trial. High dietary zinc reduced bacterial metabolite concentrations and increased molar acetate ratios at the expense of propionate in the proximal intestine, but differences diminished in older animals. Lower lactate concentrations were observed in the high dietary zinc group throughout the feeding trial. This study has shown that the application of dietary zinc at high concentrations leads to transient and lasting effects during the development of the intestinal microbiota, affecting composition as well as metabolic activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingo C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Starke
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pieper
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zentek
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vahjen
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D058491:Bacterial Load; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004032:Diet; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000382:microbiology; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D064307:Microbiota / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013552:Swine; D014886:Weaning; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D019344:Lactic Acid; D000641:Ammonia; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: bacterial development; intestinal microbiota; piglet; qPCR; zinc oxide