Supplementation with Kluyveromyces marxianus probiotic yeasts in sows and their piglets in early post- weaning: effects in biological and productive parameters

Weaning in pig production is a stressful event that impacts intestinal biology and increases the risk of infections, impairing piglet development and leading to economic losses. Antibiotic preventive administration has been used to improve the productive parameters, but nowadays this practice has been banned because of its contribution to antimicrobial resistance generation. So, alternatives are urgently needed. Kluyveromyces marxianus CIDCA 9121 has immunomodulatory and convenient biotechnological properties and was studied for preventing post-weaning stress, for which 8 sows were supplemented with 10 ⁹ CFU per kg of feed from 20 days before piglets´ birth until weaning. Then, piglets were supplemented with 2x10 ⁹ CFU/ kg of feed for 20 days more. A control group of 8 sows and their piglets not supplemented with yeast was included. Productive parameters were registered from birth to 60 days of age. Five days post-weaning, 5 animals from each group were euthanized; small intestines and blood were taken for histopathology analysis and amino acid analysis respectively. Intestinal content was sampled to determine the main bacterial groups by qPCR. Piglets born from supplemented sows (n = 132) weighed more than controls (n = 130; p < 0,05). During farrowing, there were no differences among groups but 40 days after weaning the supplemented group weighted 10% more than the control group (p < 0,05). We found an increase in citrullinemia and in the small intestine mucosal thickness in supplemented piglets post-weaning indicating better tolerance to post-weaning stress. Our results suggest that K. marxianus CIDCA 9121 is a good candidate for supplementation of gestating sows and postweaning piglets.