Effects of Probiotic Preparation on Intestinal pH,Mucosal Morphology and Volatile Fatty Acid Content in Early Weaner Piglets

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of probiotic preparation on intestinal pH,mucosal morphology and volatile fatty acid(VFA) content in early weaner piglets.Forty-eight crossed-bred(Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshine) piglets with an average body weight of(6.39±0.42) kg were randomly assigned to 2 groups(control group and probiotic group) with 4 replicates in each group and 6 piglets in each pen balanced for sex,weight and litter origin.The piglets in the control group were fed a basal diet,and the others in the probiotic group were fed the basal diet supplemented with the probiotic preparation at a concentration of 1×109 CFU per kg feed.The feeding trial lasted for 21 days.The results showed as follows: 1) the pH of ileum in the probiotic group was significantly lower than that in the control group at 28 days of age(P0.05).2) At 28 days of age,compared with the control group,villus height and the number of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes(IELs) of jejunum and ileum in the probiotic group were increased significantly(P0.05),the number of ileal goblet cells in the probiotic group was increased significantly(P0.05) and the ileal crypt depth in the probiotic group was decreased significantly(P0.05);at 35 days of age,probiotic preparation significantly increased villus height of jejunum and ileum(P0.05).Probiotic preparation significantly improved the number of IELs of jejunum and decreased crypt depth of jejunum and ileum(P0.05);at 42 days of age,villus height of jejunum and ileum in the probiotic group was significantly increased(P0.05).Probiotic preparation significantly increased the number of IELs and goblet cells of jejunum(P0.05),and significantly decreased crypt depth of jejunum(P0.05).3) The contents of butyric acid and lactic acid of cecum in the probiotic group were significantly increased compared with the control group at 28 days of age(P0.05).Probiotic preparation significantly increased the contents of acetic acid,propionic acid,butyric acid and lactic acid of cecum at 35 and 42 days of age(P0.05).In conclusion,villus height,crypt depth,the number of IELs and goblet cells,and VFA content in weaner piglets are improved by dietary probiotic preparation supplementation.The probiotic preparation can effectively alleviate intestinal environment disorder caused by the stress of early weaning of piglets.