Advanced Digestion Enhancing Protein Plus Technology (ADEPPT TM ) for assisting the restoration of the Gut Microbiome in Pigs with diarrhea

Background The microbiome of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is a dynamic system, susceptible to a variety of factors including environmental stress and diet. The gut microbiome consists of diverse microbiota that plays an important role in physiological functions. Studies have demonstrated that the most important period for microbial establishment is early life when suckling and weaning. Due to changes in rations, many piglets suffer from enteritis, which may lead to diarrhea, dehydration, and death. Hence, microbiome and healthy gut play important roles in swine production. The effect of nutraceuticals for the development, maintenance, and restoration of the gut microbiome in piglets with diarrhea needs to be explored. Aim To evaluate the effect of ADEPPT TM (a naturally derived polypeptide and polysaccharide complex) for restoration of the gut microbiome in pigs with diarrhea. Methods 28‐day‐old suckling piglets were segregated for solid foods in a pig farm at the University of WI‐River Falls. The pigs were fed corn‐soybean based diet and some piglets had diarrhea within 2 to 3 days. Fecal samples were collected from the piglets (without diarrhea as the control, piglets during and after diarrhea) and stored at −80°C. Electrolytes were given to all and ADEPPT (3g/day) only to diarrhea group for a week. DNA was extracted from feces using the PowerSoil DNA extraction kit and sent to the University of Minnesota Genomic Center. The V4 variable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified and libraries were constructed using a dual index approach1. 16SrRNA libraries were sequenced on a MiSeq V3, targeting 2×300 PE reads. Processing of amplicons was based on in‐house protocols that rely on several open‐source software to remove adaptors and primer sequences, merge PE reads, filter out low quality reads, and count unique Amplicon sequence Variants (ASVs) or unique taxonomic groups that represent the abundance of species and/or strains in each sample. All statistical analyses including alpha and beta diversity, estimation, and indicator species were performed using various packages in the R statistical interface. Results An average of 53,965 ± 9,808 sequence reads per sample were obtained. Differences were found in terms of bacterial community richness and Shannon index diversity between control, diarrhea, and after treatment with ADEPPT. In addition, the microbiomes of the treated group significantly discriminated based on a Bray‐Curtis distance PCoA. Indicator species analyses showed the ASVs or bacterial species/strains that best discriminated among treatment groups. The control samples revealed increased abundance of unclassified Synergistaceae, Bacteroides ovatus , Eubacterium, and Bacteroidales. The diarrhea samples were characterized by increased abundance of unclassified Veilloneaceae, Entreobacteriaceae, Paraprevotellaceae, and Treponema. The ADEPPT‐treated samples demonstrated higher abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii , unclassified Ruminococcus and Ruminococcus gnavus . There is a lower diversity in diarrhea samples which recovered by treating with ADEPPT. Conclusion These findings suggest that ADEPPT TM assists the restoration of the gut microbiome in weaned pigs with diarrhea.