Evaluation of the heat-killed and dried cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis against villous atrophy in early-weaned mice and pigs.

Early weaning induces villous atrophy in the small intestine (SI) of piglets. Oral administration of live lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can improve villous shortening. In this study, we evaluated the oral administration of a heat-killed and dried cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis (a LAB) strain EC-12 against villous atrophy in early-weaned mice (Experiment 1) and pigs (Experiments 2 and 3). Twelve 16-days-old mice were divided into two groups in Experiment 1: gavage of EC-12 (10 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day), or control. On day 21, SI was collected. Eighteen 21-day-old pigs were divided into two groups in Experiment 2: gavage of EC-12 (10 mg/kg BW/day), or control. After 10 days, the villous height of jejunum was measured. Six 21-day-old pigs were divided into two groups in Experiment 3: the basal diet supplemented with EC-12 at 0.05%-fed group, or the basal diet-fed group. After 10 days, the villous height of jejunum was measured. The villous heights in SI were significantly higher by EC-12 administration in all experiments. EC-12 successfully improved the villous atrophy in the early-weaned mice and pigs when EC-12 was administered orally.