Kiernan Dillon P, O'Doherty John V, Sweeney Torres
School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 W6F6 Dublin, Ireland.
School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, D04 W6F6 Dublin, Ireland.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Sep 25;13(19):3012. doi: 10.3390/ani13193012.
Establishing a balanced and diverse microbiota in the GIT of pigs is crucial for optimizing health and performance throughout the production cycle. The post-weaning period is a critical phase, as it is often associated with dysbiosis, intestinal dysfunction and poor performance. Traditionally, intestinal dysfunctions associated with weaning have been alleviated using antibiotics and/or antimicrobials. However, increasing concerns regarding the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria has prompted an industry-wide drive towards identifying natural sustainable dietary alternatives. Modulating the microbiota through dietary intervention can improve animal health by increasing the production of health-promoting metabolites associated with the improved microbiota, while limiting the establishment and proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. Prebiotics are a class of bioactive compounds that resist digestion by gastrointestinal enzymes, but which can still be utilized by beneficial microbes within the GIT. Prebiotics are a substrate for these beneficial microbes and therefore enhance their proliferation and abundance, leading to the increased production of health-promoting metabolites and suppression of pathogenic proliferation in the GIT. There are a vast range of prebiotics, including carbohydrates such as non-digestible oligosaccharides, beta-glucans, resistant starch, and inulin. Furthermore, the definition of a prebiotic has recently expanded to include novel prebiotics such as peptides and amino acids. A novel class of -biotics, referred to as "stimbiotics", was recently suggested. This bioactive group has microbiota-modulating capabilities and promotes increases in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in a disproportionally greater manner than if they were merely substrates for bacterial fermentation. The aim of this review is to characterize the different prebiotics, detail the current understating of stimbiotics, and outline how supplementation to pigs at different stages of development and production can potentially modulate the GIT microbiota and subsequently improve the health and performance of animals.
在猪的胃肠道中建立平衡且多样的微生物群对于在整个生产周期中优化健康和性能至关重要。断奶后时期是一个关键阶段，因为它通常与微生物群失调、肠道功能障碍和性能不佳有关。传统上，与断奶相关的肠道功能障碍一直通过使用抗生素和/或抗菌剂来缓解。然而，对抗生素耐药细菌流行的日益关注促使整个行业努力寻找天然的可持续饮食替代品。通过饮食干预调节微生物群可以通过增加与改善的微生物群相关的促进健康代谢物的产生来改善动物健康，同时限制病原菌的建立和增殖。益生元是一类生物活性化合物，它们能抵抗胃肠酶的消化，但仍可被胃肠道内的有益微生物利用。益生元是这些有益微生物的底物，因此可增强它们的增殖和丰度，导致促进健康代谢物的产量增加，并抑制胃肠道中病原菌的增殖。益生元种类繁多，包括碳水化合物，如不可消化的低聚糖、β-葡聚糖、抗性淀粉和菊粉。此外，益生元的定义最近已扩大到包括新型益生元，如肽和氨基酸。最近有人提出了一类新型的“刺激素”。这个生物活性基团具有调节微生物群的能力，并且比仅仅作为细菌发酵底物的情况更能促进短链脂肪酸（SCFA）产量的增加。本综述的目的是描述不同的益生元，详细介绍目前对刺激素的理解，并概述在猪的不同发育和生产阶段进行补充如何可能调节胃肠道微生物群，进而改善动物的健康和性能。
