The nanocomposites of modified attapulgite with vitamin E and mannan oligosaccharide regulated the intestinal epithelial barrier and improved intestinal microbiota composition to prevent diarrhea in weaned piglets

Abstract BACKGROUND Overuse of antibiotics contributes to bacterial resistance in animals. Therefore, it is necessary to find a new way to ensure animal health and promote animal growth. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of mannan oligosaccharide (MOS)/vitamin E (VE)/attapulgite (APT) nanocomposites (SLK1, SLK3, SLK5) on growth performance and intestinal health in weaned piglets. Each 1 kg of SLK1, SLK3 or SLK5 contains 50 g of vitamin E, and each had a different MOS concentration [SLK1 (50 g kg −1 MOS), SLK3 (100 g kg −1 MOS), SLK5 (150 g kg −1 MOS)]. In total, 135 piglets were randomly divided into five groups (normal control group, traditional antibiotic substitutes group, SLK1 group, SLK3 group and SLK5 group), and growth performance, diarrhea index, intestinal epithelial barrier function and intestinal microbial composition were measured. RESULTS SLK1 and SLK5 significantly decreased diarrhea frequency in weaned piglets ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, SLK5 significantly increased survival rate of weaned piglets compared to the traditional antibiotic substitutes group ( p < 0.05). SLK5 also increased villus height of ileum, and increased goblet number of the jejunum ( p < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing showed that SLK5 significantly regulated intestinal colonic microbiota composition ( p < 0.05). Specifically, SLK5 significantly increased the abundance of Phascolarctobacterium succinatutens in the cecum and increased the abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in the colon ( p < 0.05) . In addition, dietary supplementation with 1 kg T −1 SLK5 also significantly increased the propionate content in the colon, which is significantly correlated with Phascolarctobacterium ( p < 0.05) . CONCLUSION Dietary supplementation with 1 kg T −1 SLK5 improved intestinal epithelial barrier function, and regulated intestinal microbiota composition to prevent diarrhea in weaned piglets. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.