Supplemental Effects of Fermented Rice Bran Extracts on Gut Health and Growth of Nursery Pigs

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the supplemental effects of fermented rice bran extract (FBE, Maxcell Co., LA, CA) on growth performance, fecal score, intestinal morphology, and oxidative stress in nursery pigs. Rice bran was fermented with sucrose sources by a mixture of probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) producing metabolites. Thirty pigs (15 barrows and 15 gilts at 6.7 ± 0.2 kg BW) were allotted in a randomized complete block design with sex and initial BW as blocks and randomly assigned to 3 treatments. Pigs were fed a basal diet supplemented with FBE at the level of 0, 5, or 10 g/kg based on 2 phases (7 and 18 d, respectively). Body weight and feed consumption were recorded on d 7, 14, 21, and 25. Fecal scores were determined to measure diarrhea severity, duodenal and jejunal mucosa samples were collected for analysis of oxidative stress, and immune responses, and jejunum segments were collected for morphology evaluation. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS. Increasing levels of FBE increased ADG (400 to 547 g/d, quadratic, P < 0.05) from d 14 to 21. Increasing levels of FBE tended to increase BW on d 21 (11.3 to 12.4 kg, quadratic, P = 0.062) and d 25 (13.5 to 14.7 kg, quadratic, P = 0.064), respectively. Increasing dietary FBE tended to increase ADFI (234 to 243 g/d, linear, P = 0.095) from d 0 to 14. Over the entire 25 d, increasing levels of FBE tended to increase ADG (271 to 320 g/d, quadratic, P = 0.078). Increasing levels of FBE decreased fecal scores (1.35 to 1.09, linear, P < 0.05) on d 5, during phase 1. Increasing levels of FBE increased villus height:crypt depth (2.1 to 2.4, linear, P < 0.05) in the jejunum. Increasing levels of FBE decreased malondialdehyde (0.75 to 0.58, μmol/g protein, linear, P < 0.05) and protein carbonyl (1.89 to 1.26 nmol/mg protein, linear, P < 0.05) in the duodenal mucosa whereas tended to decrease protein carbonyl (1.92 to 1.53 nmol/mg protein, linear, P = 0.094) in the jejunal mucosa. Supplementation of FBE did not affect the concentrations of immunoglobulin A and tumor necrosis factor-α in the duodenal and jejunal mucosa. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of FBE may have beneficial effects on growth performance by decreasing diarrhea occurrence, and potentially by reducing oxidative stress in the small intestine of nursery pigs.