Article

Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 on sows´ farrowing duration, reproductive performance, and weanling piglets´ performance and IgG concentration

Haiqing Sun1, Fernando Bravo de Laguna2,*, Shuai Wang2, Fengju Liu3, Liang Shi1, Haidi Jiang1, Xiaoxia Hu1, Peng Qin3, Jiajian Tan1,4
Author Information & Copyright
1Guangxi Yangxiang Co., Ltd., Guigang, Guangxi 537100, China.
2Lallemand SAS, Blagnac 31702, France.
3Beijing Hilink International Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing 100102, China.
4Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
*Corresponding Author: Fernando Bravo de Laguna, Lallemand SAS, Blagnac 31702, France. E-mail: fbravodelaguna@lallemand.com.

© Copyright 2021 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

We studied the effects of <italic>Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii </italic>CNCM I-1079 (LSB) supplemented to lactating sows on reproductive traits and farrowing duration and to piglets from day 7 of life on post-weaning performance and IgG concentration. Ninety-six Landrace x Yorkshire sows started the trial 5 days before the expected farrowing date. Sows were distributed into 2 groups according to parity number and backfat thickness: control (CON: regular lactation diet) and LSB (CON + LSB at 2 × 10<sup>9</sup> colony forming units (CFU)/kg of feed). Seven days after birth, litters were randomly selected from each group and supplemented creep feed with or without LSB at 2 × 10<sup>9</sup> CFU/kg. At weaning, piglets from CON sows were shifted to a commercial farm and allocated to 14 pens in groups of 25 piglets/pen according to the creep feed supplemented during lactation. Piglets followed a 3-phase feeding program: creep, prestarter and starter, with or without LSB at 2 × 10<sup>9</sup> CFU/kg LSB in creep and prestarter, and 1 × 10<sup>9</sup> CFU/kg LSB in starter. The piglets were vaccinated against classical swine fever on days 41 and 72 of life. One day before each vaccination and at the end of the trial, blood samples were collected from 15 randomly selected piglets per treatment and assessed for total IgG. Supplemented sows with non-supplemented litters displayed the lowest backfat thickness loss during lactation (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05). The LSB supplementation shortened farrowing duration (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05) and increased feed intake (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05) during the first week of lactation. The LSB-fed piglets were heavier at the end of creep (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05), prestarter (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05), and the trial (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05); grew faster during creep (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05), starter (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05), and overall (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05); and displayed an improved feed conversion ratio during creep (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05). Total IgG content was higher at days 40 <italic>(p</italic>&lt;0.05) and 71 (<italic>p</italic>&lt;0.05) in LSB-fed piglets. We conclude that supplementing sows with <italic>Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii</italic> CNCM I-1079 from late gestation until weaning shortens farrowing duration, increases feed intake, and minimizes backfat losses during lactation. When supplemented to piglet diet, post-weaning performance is improved. This improvement observed could be linked to a better immune status, as suggested by the higher IgG.

Keywords: sows; weanling piglets; Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii; live yeast; farrowing duration; IgG