Effects of dietary fiber on swine intestinal epithelial and immune response

Abstract

In order to reduce feed costs, the use of high-fiber ingredients such as corn dried distiller’s grains with solubles and wheat middlings has become a common practice among swine farmers. However, caloric efficiency and growth of pigs fed high-fiber feed ingredients is usually less than pigs fed corn-soybean meal diets. Supplementation of pigs fed high-fiber diets with fiber-degrading enzymes is an approach to increase energy and amino acid digestibility that may result in a more cost-effective production method. Different components of fiber will modify the intestinal microbiome and epithelial parameters such as mucin expression, likely leading to changes in the intestinal immune response. Therefore, the focus of this thesis is to identify the cytokine profile in the swine intestine caused by fiber sources and fiber-degrading enzymes, and to define whether fiber actions on the intestinal epithelium are mediated through the activation of a localized immune response.