NUTRIOSE®, a new approach to preserve digestive well-being in piglets by stimulating gut mucosal immunity and functionality.

Daniel Wils, Catherine Lefranc-Millot, Baptiste Popineau, Laetitia Deremaux, Christian Delporte Groupe Roquette, F-62080 Lestrem (France)

^{Daniel Wils, Catherine Lefranc-Millot, Baptiste Popineau, Laetitia Deremaux, Christian Delporte
Groupe Roquette, F-62080 Lestrem (France)}

Piglets have to considerably adapt to new dietary habits during weaning. This transitional period has important consequences on the intestinal morphology and physiology. The dietary diversification may induce alterations of the intestinal microbiota and induce digestive troubles possibly endangering the sanitary balance of the young animals. NUTRIOSE®, as a prebiotic soluble fiber¹, may offer many interests in this context.

Firstly, NUTRIOSE® is a resistant dextrin that modulates significantly from 8 g/day (14 days) the human fecal flora, promotes long-lasting colonic fermentations (in vivo) and induces production of short-chain fatty acids (in vitro), while inducing a pH decrease in the colon and changes in fecal bacterial enzymes², ³, ⁴, ⁵

Secondly, supplementation of piglets with 4% NUTRIOSE® in feed (50 days) has a significant preventive impact on inflammation, as demonstrated by lower colonic scores (P < 0.05)⁶.

Thirdly, animals supplemented with NUTRIOSE® (2%, 77 days) exhibit an increase in small intestine's villi length (P = 0.088) as compared to medicated ones (antibiotics during the first 15 days) and in the epithelial cell's height in the colon (P = 0.068) as compared to control or to medicated ones⁷.

Ingestion, digestive tract adaptation, diversification and stability of the intestinal microbiota have to be favored during this critical breeding period, to avoid pathogens development. The supplementation with NUTRIOSE® may therefore be considered as a new approach to preserve digestive well-being in piglets, and a useful and "easy to handle" tool to promote general sanitary state during and after weaning.

 

^{1 Lefranc-Millot C. NUTRIOSE® 06: a useful soluble dietary fibre for added nutritional value. Nutrition Bulletin, 2008; 33: 234-239.
2 Stewart ML, Rushton A, Paredes-Diaz A, Savarino V, Slavin JL. Wheat Dextrin (WD), Inulin, and Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum (PHGG) Produce Unique Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentration in Model Colonic Fermentation. Gastroenterology, 2007; 132(4 Suppl. 2): A-585.
3 Pasman W, Wils D, Saniez MH, Kardinaal A. Long-term gastrointestinal tolerance of NUTRIOSE® FB in healthy men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006; 60(8): 1024-34. Epub 2006 Feb 15.
4 Van den Heuvel EGHM, Wils D, Pasman WJ, Saniez MH and Kardinaal AF. Dietary supplementation of different doses of NUTRIOSE® FB, a fermentable dextrin, alters the activity of faecal enzymes in healthy men. European Journal of Nutrition, 2005, 44: 445-451.
5 Van den Heuvel EGHM, Wils D, Pasman WJ, Bakker M, Saniez-Degrave MH, Kardinaal AFM. Short-term digestive tolerance of different doses of NUTRIOSE® FB, a food dextrin, in adult men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2004, 58:1046-1055.
6 Pouillart PR, Dépeint F, Abdelnour A, Deremaux L, Vincent O, Mazière JC, Madec JY, Chatelain D, Younes H, Wils D, Saniez MH, Dupas JL. NUTRIOSE®, a prebiotic low-digestible carbohydrate stimulates gut mucosal immunity and prevents TNBS-induced colitis in piglets. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2009 (in press).
7 Rossi F, Morlacchini M, Gatti P, Soldi S, Callegari ML, Piva G. effects of a glucooligosaccharide supplement on the morphological characteristics of the gastro-intestinal tract and growth performance in weaned piglets. Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2008, 7: 185-198.}