Occurrence of selected bacterial groups in the faeces of piglets fed with Bacillus coagulans as probiotic.

A microbiological analysis of piglet faeces was performed on samples collected from animals fed a diet without any additive, animals fed a diet that contained Bacillus coagulans CNCMI-1061 as probiotic, and animals fed a diet that contained Zn-bacitracin. The analysis was carried out in concurrence with a zootechnical trial. Selected bacterial groups (lactic acid bacteria, lacotococci, enterococci, aerobic and anaerobic cocci, total and faecal coliforms, clostridia, bacteroides, bifidobacteria) were determined at day 1 and after 1, 4 and 10 weeks of life. Numbers of enterococci, coliforms (especially faecal coliforms) showed a decrease over time with probiotic, more evident than with the antibiotic. Daily administration of B. coagulans allowed this bacterium to become integrated into the enteric microflora where it is transient. These results seem to show a positive effect of B. coagulans addition on cocci and faecal coliforms. We suggest that this probiotic may represent an alternative to antibiotics.