Application of Complex Probiotics in Swine Nutrition – A Review

The use of probiotics as alternatives to antibiotics for farm animals is gaining more and more interest during recent years. Probiotics are living microorganisms that provide a wide variety of health benefits to the host when ingested in adequate amounts. The bacterial strains most frequently used as probiotic agents are Bacillus, lactic acid bacteria, Enterococcus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It has been suggested that multi-strain probiotics might be more effective than mono-strain probiotics due to the additive and synergistic effects, and many previous studies demonstrated that dietary complex probiotics supplementation had growth promoting effects on pigs. However, the effect of complex probiotics in practice is not always consistent, the effect of probiotic could be affected by strain composition, dosage, feed formula, and the age of animals. In this review, we will give an overview on the current use of complex probiotics for weaning, growing and finishing pigs and sows.