• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.643-649
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding direct-fed microbials (DFM) on the growth performance and prophylaxis of calf diarrhea during the pre-weaning period as an alternative to antibiotics. A multi-species DFM was formulated including three lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus salivarius Ls29, Pediococcus acidilactia Pa175, and L. plantarum Lp177), three Bacillus strains (B. subtilis T4, B. polymyxa T1 and SM2), one yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii, and a nonpathogenic E. coli Nissle 1917. Lactic acid bacteria and Bacillus strains were selected based on the antibacterial activity against various animal pathogens, especially pathogenic E. coli using agar diffusion methods in vitro. Test and control groups were fed milk replacer and calf starter supplemented with DFM ($10^9$ cfu each of eight species/d/head, n = 29) or with antibiotics (0.1% neomycin sulfate in milk replacer and Colistin 0.08% and Oxyneo 110/110 0.1% in calf starter, n = 15), respectively. Overall fecal score and the incidence rate of diarrhea were reduced in the DFM group compared to the antibiotics one. About 40% of calves in antibiotic group suffered from diarrhea while in DFM group only 14% showed diarrhea. There was no difference in the average daily gain and feed efficiency of two groups. The hematological levels of calves were all within the normal range with no significant difference. In conclusion, the feeding of multispecies DFM during the pre-weaning period could reduce calf diarrhea and there was no difference in the growth performance between the groups, thus showing the potential as an alternative to antibiotics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.252-261
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• 2008

Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of feeding organic acids and antibiotic growth promoters in weaned pigs. In Exp. 1, 96 nursery pigs (Large White$\times$Landrace; initial weight $7.80{\pm}0.07kg$) were randomly allotted into one of four dietary treatments. Pigs in treatment 1 were fed a complex starter diet. Treatments 2 to 4 were the same as treatment 1 but supplemented with antibiotics (200 ppm chlortetracycline plus 60 ppm Lincospectin), 0.5% potassium diformate or 0.5% dry organic acid blend ACTIVATE Starter DA (ASD). During the 4-week post-weaning period, pigs fed ASD or antibiotics had better gain (p = 0.03) and feed efficiency (p = 0.04) than pigs fed the control diet. On d 14 post-weaning, pigs fed the control diet had the lowest fecal lactobacilli count among all dietary treatments (p = 0.02), whereas pigs fed ASD or antibiotics had a trend for lower fecal E. coli count compared to the control pigs (p = 0.08). Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) of pigs fed ASD did not differ from pigs fed the control diet (p>0.05) at d 14 after weaning. In Exp. 2, 24 weaned pigs (Large White$\times$Long White; initial weight $5.94{\pm}0.33kg$) were allotted into four groups and housed individually. Pigs were fed a control diet or diets supplemented with antibiotics (100 ppm colistin sulfate, 50 ppm Kitasamycin plus 60 ppm Olaquindox), 0.5% or 1% ASD. All pigs were orally challenged with E. coli $K88^+$ on d 5. During d 5 to 14 after challenge, pigs fed antibiotics, 0.5% or 1% ASD had better gain (p = 0.01) and feed efficiency (p = 0.03) than pigs fed the control diet. On d 14, compared to the control pigs, pigs fed 0.5% ASD had higher lactobacilli in the duodenum and pigs fed 1% ASD and antibiotics had a trend for higher lactobacilli in the ileum (p = 0.08). Pigs fed antibiotics, 0.5% or 1% ASD diets tended to have decreased ileal E. coli count compared to those fed the control diet (p = 0.08). Serum interleukin-6 and cortisol and digesta pH values were not affected by treatment or time. These results indicate that feeding ASD can improve the growth performance of weaning pigs, mainly via modulating intestinal microflora populations without affecting gastrointestinal pH or immune indices.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.330-334
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• 2001

The polymorphism of Azospirillum isolates from ornamental rhizosphere and two reference strains were examined with respect to intrinsic antibiotic resistance (IAR) profile. All the isolates showed different intrinsic resistances to different antibiotics viz., tetracycline, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, ampicillin, spectinomycin and chloramphenicol. All the strains demonstrated susceptibility to high concentration of all antibiotics used in the present experiment. In addition to these general patterns, we also obseved the multiple antibiotic resistances of Azospirillum strains. The Azospirillum sp. OAD-11 was resistant to tetracycline, streptomycin and ampicillin, and Azospirillum sp. OAD-57 was resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin. Conversely, Azospirillum sp. OAD-9 possessed the dual susceptibility to tetracycline and spectinomycin, whereas Azospirillum sp. OAD-37 was dual susceptible to streptomycin and kanamycin. Such multiple antibiotic resistant/susceptible traits could be useful for the identification of the strains in field experiments or in molecular genetic transfer experiments.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.867-876
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• 2012

The concentration of veterinary antibiotics in aqueous and sediment matrices was measured in agricultural irrigation ditches bordering several animal-feeding operations (AFOs) and then compared to its concentration in the watershed. Analytical determination in aqueous samples was based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and appropriate buffer solutions were used to extract residuals in sediment samples. Separation and detection of extracted veterinary antibiotics were performed with high performance liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). In general, higher concentrations of antibiotic were observed in the aqueous phase of irrigation ditches, with the highest concentration of erythromycin hydrochloride (ETM-$H_2O$) of $0.53{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$, than in aqueous watershed samples. In contrast, higher concentrations were measured in river sediment than in irrigation ditch sediment with the highest concentration of oxytetracycline of $110.9{\mu}g\;kg^{-1}$. There was a high calculated correlation ( > 0.95) between precipitation and measured concentration in aqueous samples from the irrigation ditches for five of the ten targeted veterinary antibiotics, indicating that surface runoff could be an important transport mechanism of veterinary antibiotics from field to environment. Further, environmental loading calculation based on measured concentrations in aqueous samples and flow information clearly showed that irrigation ditches were 18 times greater than river. This result suggests the likelihood that veterinary antibiotics can be transported via irrigation ditches to the watershed. The transport via surface runoff and likely environmental loading via irrigation ditches examined in this study helps identify the pathway of veterinary antibiotics residuals in the environment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.78-84
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• 2017

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine shifts in the composition of the bacterial population in the intestinal tracts (ITs) of weaning piglets by antibiotic treatment using high-throughput sequencing. Methods: Sixty 28-d-old weaning piglets were randomly divided into two treatment groups. The Control group was treated with a basal diet without antibiotics. The Antibiotic group's basal diet contained colistin sulfate at a concentration of 20 g per ton and bacitracin zinc at a concentration of 40 g per ton. All of the pigs were fed for 28 days. Then, three pigs were killed, and the luminal contents of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon were collected for DNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing. Results: The results showed that the average daily weight gain of the antibiotic group was significantly greater (p<0.05), and the incidence of diarrhea lower (p>0.05), than the control group. A total of 812,607 valid reads were generated. Thirty-eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were found in all of the samples were defined as core OTUs. Twenty-one phyla were identified, and approximately 90% of the classifiable sequences belonged to the phylum Firmicutes. Forty-two classes were identified. Of the 232 genera identified, nine genera were identified as the core gut microbiome because they existed in all of the tracts. The proportion of the nine core bacteria varied at the different tract sites. A heat map was used to understand how the numbers of the abundant genera shifted between the two treatment groups. Conclusion: At different tract sites the relative abundance of gut microbiota was different. Antibiotics could cause shifts in the microorganism composition and affect the composition of gut microbiota in the different tracts of weaning piglets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1554-1560
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• 2000

Ninety-six crossbred (Large White${\times}$Landrace${\times}$Duroc) pigs, weaned at 35 days of age, were assigned to four dietary treatments in order to investigate the effects of oral antibiotics on the performance and the intestinal microflora of weanling pigs. Pigs were fed either a basal diet, without antibiotics, or the basal diet plus either 50 ppm acetylspiramycin, 50 ppm olaquindox, or 100 ppm bacitracin zinc. The pigs were housed eight per pen with three pens per treatment in an environmentally controlled nursery. Ten days after weaning, three pigs from each treatment were slaughtered and intestinal pH, microflora, and volatile fatty acid concentration were determined. At the end of the 4 week trial, the remaining pigs were weighed and feed consumption was measured. Average daily gains for pigs fed acetylspiramycin, olaquindox, bacitracin zinc and the control diet were 0.43, 0.40, 0.37, and 0.34 kg per day (p=0.001), respectively. Antibiotic addition did not modify feed intake, but acetylspiramycin improved feed conversion (p=0.003). In comparison with the control, acetylspiramycin significantly increased Bifidobacteria numbers in the jejunum (p=0.082) and ileum (p=0.014) and decreased total bacterial counts throughout the intestine (p<0.01 except for the ileum where p=0.079). Acetate production was significantly lower in the cecum (p=0.028) and colon (p=0.079) of pigs fed acetylspiramycin. In addition to increasing numbers of Bifidobacteria in the jejunum (p=0.082) and ileum (p=0.014), olaquindox increased Lactobacillus in the jejunum (p=0.004) and decreased E. coli in the colon (p=0.022). Bacitracin zinc increased Lactobacillus numbers in the jejunum (p=0.004) and Bifidobacterium concentrations in the jejunum (p=0.082) and ileum (p=0.014).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1635-1641
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• 2008

This study investigated the effects of solid-state fermentation of a compound pig feed on its microbial and nutritional characteristics as well as on pig performance and nutrient digestibility. A mixed culture containing Lactobacillus fermentum, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Bacillus subtilis was used for solid-state fermentation and solid-state fermented feed samples were collected on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 for microbial counts and chemical analysis. Lactic acid bacteria increased rapidly during the first three days of fermentation and then slowly declined until day 10 and, thereafter, the counts were maintained at about 6.7 log cfu/g for the duration of the fermentation period. Enterobacteria also increased during the first two days, and then fell below the detectable level of the analysis (3.0 log cfu/g). The pH of the fermentation substrate declined from 6.1 at the start of fermentation to 5.7 by day 30. The water-soluble protein content increased from 8.2 to 9.2% while the concentration of acetic acid increased from 16.6 to 51.3 mmol/kg over the 30-day fermentation. At the end of the 30-day fermentation, the solid-state fermented feed was used in a pig feeding trial to determine its effects on performance and nutrient digestibility in growing-finishing pigs. Twenty crossbred barrows ($14.11{\pm}0.77kg\;BW$) were allotted into two dietary treatments, which comprised a regular dry diet containing antibiotics and a solid-state fermented feed based diet, free of antibiotics. There was no difference due to diet on pig performance or nutrient digestibility. In conclusion, solid-state fermentation resulted in high counts of lactic acid bacteria and low counts of enterobacteria in the substrate. Moreover, feeding a diet containing solid-state fermented feed, free of antibiotics, can result in similar performance and nutrient digestibility in growing-finishing pigs to a regular diet with antibiotics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.1048-1060
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• 2005

Dietary acidifiers appear to be a possible alternative to feed antibiotics in order to improve performance of weaning pigs. It is generally known that dietary acidifiers lower gastric pH, resulting in increased activity of proteolytic enzymes, improved protein digestibility and inhibiting the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria in GI tract. It is also hypothesized that acidifiers could be related to reduction of gastric emptying rate, energy source in intestine, chelation of minerals, stimulation of digestive enzymes and intermediate metabolism. However, the exact mode of action still remains questionable. Organic acidifiers have been widely used for weaning pigs' diets for decades and most common organic acidifiers contain fumaric, citric, formic and/or lactic acid. Many researchers have observed that dietary acidifier supplementation improved growth performance and health status in weaning pigs. Recently inorganic acidifiers as well as organic acidifiers have drawn much attention due to improving performance of weaning pigs with a low cost. Several researchers introduced the use of salt form of acidifiers because of convenient application and better effects than pure state acids. However, considerable variations in results of acidifier supplementation have been reported in response of weaning pigs. The inconsistent responses to dietary acidifiers could be explained by feed palatability, sources and composition of diet, supplementation level of acidifier and age of animals.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.107-125
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• 2024

Three types of veterinary antibiotics, including oxytetracycline (OTC) and chlortetracycline (CTC) of tetracycline class and amoxicillin (AMX) of penicilline class, were artificially introduced into the irrigation water. The residue of veterinary antibiotics in the soil, the absorption-translocation of veterinary antibiotics into the red lettuce and young radish plant, and crops yield were investigated according to the agricultural water irrigation method (surface drip irrigation, underground drip irrigation, and sprinkler irrigation). There was no significant difference in the residue and translocation of veterinary antibiotics in the soils and crops according to the irrigation method and type of veterinary antibiotics (p>0.05). For the edible parts of red lettuce and young radish, all three types of veterinary antibiotics were found to be below the detection limit, indicating that the safety of the crops was secured. The translocation factor of red lettuce and young radish were found to be less than 0.3 and 0.2, respectively. However, continuous introduction of veterinary antibiotics in agricultural arable lands may have negative effects by affecting soil microbial activity and soil microbe species diversity, so continuous management is deemed necessary.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the changes in the pig productivity after ban of antibiotics growth promoter in commercial pig farms. A total 74 pig farms that herd size is from less than 100 sows to more than 500 sows were selected for survey. Changes of pig productivity before/after ban of antibiotics were analyzed by comparing with our survey results and report of KPPA (Korean Pork Producers Association, 2013). In the results, no difference on pig productivity was observed by herd size among our survey farms. Live born piglets have been raised as time passes since 2003, and then it reach to 10.6 head per sow in 2012. The numbers of weaning piglet tended to increase, but sow turnover ratio was found to be a tendency to decrease after ban of antibiotics in our survey results. There was no effect of using antibiotics on mortality of pre- and post- weaning. Marketing per sow per year (MSY) does not be improved because the post-weaning mortality was maintained at a high level, despite live pig born and weaning piglet have increased after 2003. In conclusion, a ban of antibiotics growth promoter does not directly affect to pig productivity, but it needs the efforts to reduce the mortality of post-weaning for improvement of pig productivity. We suggest that this data will be useful to swine industry as the fundamental information.