Effect of probiotic containing Lactobacillus plantarum on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microbiota in weaning pigs

摘要

A total of 150 weaning pigs (7.53 +/- 1.23 kg) were randomly assigned to three treatments consisting of basal diet, and the basal diet supplemented with 300 and 600 mg kg(-1) of probiotics, respectively, in a 42 d trial. The incremental levels of probiotics linearly increased average daily gain during week 1 and through the overall experimental period (P < 0.05). The average daily feed intake, body weight, and the apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen, and gross energy also increased (P < 0.05) with the increased level of probiotics. A significant reduction in Escherichia coli counts (P = 0.0037) and increase (P = 0.0016) in Lactobacillus counts were observed on day 42.