SR9069 - Use of Prebiotics and Probiotics as Replacements for Antibiotics in Pig Starter Feeds

Lead researcher

Dr. Gregor Reid, Lawson Health Research Institute, London

Objectives

To examine the ability of prebiotic and probiotic to provent E. coli diarrhea and maintain growth performance in post-weaning pigs.

Expected benefits

Creation of intellectual property which could stimulate manufacturing and global sales of probiotics for pigs and other livestock.

Results

We anticipated that the lactobacilli in capsular form would reduce the lethal effect of E. coli. Rather, the capsules were not an effective delivery system. No significant reduction in death rate was found with lactobacilli, prebiotic or antibiotic presence in the feed. Therefore, the lethality experiments were abandoned until an improved method of probiotic delivery could be created.

We anticipated that the growth performance would be comparable amongst all groups. In fact, the lactobacilli, even although they were not optimally delivered in capsule, showed similar growth enhancement as the medicated food. This was encouraging and led to several approaches.

Food trials were then designed as a practical means of delivering novel and beneficial probiotic strains.

We anticipated that one or more commensal strains would be identified with the potential to become a probiotic. A Lactobacillus reuteri strain found in high numbers in healthy animals was isolated.

Related information

• Other projects funded through the New Directions Research Program in 2001