Weaning stress commonly leads to impaired intestinal function, diarrhoea, and growth retardation in piglets. As restrictions on antibiotic use in animal feed continue to increase, practical nutritional alternatives are urgently needed to support post-weaning health and performance. This study evaluated the effects of Grosol®Plus, a multi-nutrient feed additive containing vitamins, amino acids, and isomaltooligosaccharides, on growth performance, intestinal health, oxidative status, and selected microbial indicators in weaned piglets. A total of 100 weaned piglets were randomly assigned to a control group (basal diet) or a treatment group (basal diet + 0.1% Grosol®Plus) for a 45-day trial. Each group consisted of five pens, with ten piglets per pen. Body weight and feed intake were recorded throughout the experiment. On days 7 and 14 post-weaning, 12 piglets per group were selected for blood and fecal sampling to determine biochemical parameters and related molecular indices. Growth performance was analyzed using pen-based data, whereas biochemical indices were analyzed using individual piglet data. The results showed that Grosol®Plus supplementation tended to increase average daily gain during days 15–45 post-weaning (P = 0.10) and final body weight (P = 0.09). It also reduced diarrhoea incidence during days 8–14 (P = 0.06) and significantly reduced diarrhoea incidence during days 15–45 (P < 0.01). At the molecular level, the treatment group exhibited higher fecal mRNA expression of the tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin on days 7 and 14, along with increased TGF-β expression, whereas pro-inflammatory markers such as IL-1β and lipocalin-2 showed decreasing trends. On day 14 post-weaning, the fecal abundance of Escherichia coli was significantly lower in the treatment group (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, plasma antioxidant indicators (T-AOC, GSH-Px, and SOD) increased significantly, whereas MDA decreased. Collectively, dietary supplementation with Grosol®Plus may alleviate weaning stress by enhancing intestinal barrier function, attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress, and promoting gut microbial balance, thereby improving piglet health and growth under antibiotic-free conditions. This study provides a promising nutritional intervention strategy to reduce post-weaning losses and decrease (or replace) the use of therapeutic medications.

Effects of a multi-nutrient feed additive on the growth performance, gut health, and antioxidant status of weaned piglets

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发表日期：

2026年5月5日

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Kunfei Chen,
Xiangchen Liu,
Hongkui Wei,
Siwen Jiang,
Fenge Li

摘要

Weaning stress commonly leads to impaired intestinal function, diarrhoea, and growth retardation in piglets. As restrictions on antibiotic use in animal feed continue to increase, practical nutritional alternatives are urgently needed to support post-weaning health and performance. This study evaluated the effects of Grosol^®Plus, a multi-nutrient feed additive containing vitamins, amino acids, and isomaltooligosaccharides, on growth performance, intestinal health, oxidative status, and selected microbial indicators in weaned piglets. A total of 100 weaned piglets were randomly assigned to a control group (basal diet) or a treatment group (basal diet + 0.1% Grosol^®Plus) for a 45-day trial. Each group consisted of five pens, with ten piglets per pen. Body weight and feed intake were recorded throughout the experiment. On days 7 and 14 post-weaning, 12 piglets per group were selected for blood and fecal sampling to determine biochemical parameters and related molecular indices. Growth performance was analyzed using pen-based data, whereas biochemical indices were analyzed using individual piglet data. The results showed that Grosol^®Plus supplementation tended to increase average daily gain during days 15–45 post-weaning (P = 0.10) and final body weight (P = 0.09). It also reduced diarrhoea incidence during days 8–14 (P = 0.06) and significantly reduced diarrhoea incidence during days 15–45 (P < 0.01). At the molecular level, the treatment group exhibited higher fecal mRNA expression of the tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin on days 7 and 14, along with increased TGF-β expression, whereas pro-inflammatory markers such as IL-1β and lipocalin-2 showed decreasing trends. On day 14 post-weaning, the fecal abundance of Escherichia coli was significantly lower in the treatment group (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, plasma antioxidant indicators (T-AOC, GSH-Px, and SOD) increased significantly, whereas MDA decreased. Collectively, dietary supplementation with Grosol^®Plus may alleviate weaning stress by enhancing intestinal barrier function, attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress, and promoting gut microbial balance, thereby improving piglet health and growth under antibiotic-free conditions. This study provides a promising nutritional intervention strategy to reduce post-weaning losses and decrease (or replace) the use of therapeutic medications.