Effects of microencapsulated Enterococcus faecalis on the growth performance, immune function, and cecal microflora of weaned piglets

Probiotics are offered as dietary supplements in animal husbandry, and microencapsulation protects probiotic activity.Here, feed microencapsulated Enterococcus faecalis of weaned piglets on the growth performance, immune function, and cecal microbiota were investigated.A control diet (NC), a 0.05% Aureomycin (PC) diet or a microencapsulated E. faecalissupplemented (1 × 10 9 cfu/kg of diet; ME) diet was fed to 90 weaned piglets for 28 days.Compared with the piglets fed the NC diet, those fed the PC and ME diets showed a significant increase (P<0.001) in final weight, ADG, and ADFI but a significant decrease in the F : G ratio (P<0.01)during the 28-day experimental period.Compared with the NC group, the PC and ME groups showed significant (P<0.05)decreases in serum TNF-, IL-6, IL-1, IgG, IgM, and IgA concentrations.High-throughput sequencing revealed that the diet modulated cecal bacterial diversity, including an increase in Lactobacillus abundance.Thus, microencapsulated E. faecalis promotes the growth performance, immunity and optimal intestinal flora of weaned piglets.