Maintenance of gut microbiome stability for optimum intestinal health in pigs – a review

Pigs are exposed to various challenges such as weaning, environmental stressors, unhealthy diet, diseases and infections during their lifetime which adversely affects the gut microbiome. The inability of the pig microbiome to return to the pre-challenge baseline may lead to dysbiosis resulting in the outbreak of diseases. Therefore, the maintenance of gut microbiome diversity, robustness and stability has been influential for optimum intestinal health after perturbations. Nowadays human and animal researches have focused on more holistic approaches to obtain a robust gut microbiota that provides protection against pathogens and improves the digestive physiology and the immune system. In this review, we present an overview of the swine gut microbiota, factors affecting the gut microbiome and the importance of microbial stability in promoting optimal intestinal health. Additionally, we discussed the current understanding of nutritional interventions using fibers and pre/probiotics supplementation as non-antibiotic alternatives to maintain microbiota resilience to replace diminished species.