Understanding the Relationship Between Immune Response, Intestinal Microbial Ecology & Growth Performance in Nursery Pigs Fed Diets With or Without In-Feed Antibiotics or a Combination of Beta-Glucan and Vitamin C

Approach: This is a research project with the unique characteristic of comparatively evaluating treatments with different approaches. The use of antibiotics is expected to have a direct impact on the intestinal microbial ecology, and consequently on immune responses from the host; whereas the combination of beta-glucan and vitamin C is expected to affect the immune status of the host, and potentially, the overall health and growth of the pigs. Animals will be subjected to the treatments for a period of four weeks. During the experiment growth performance, immunological, and intestinal microbiological parameters will be monitored. Based on the results obtained from this research, a better understanding of the relationship between immunological status, intestinal microbial ecology, and growth performance in the presence of in-feed antibiotics is expected.