The Effect of Maternal Probiotic or Synbiotic Supplementation on Sow and Offspring Gastrointestinal Microbiota, Health, and Performance

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota refers to the collection of microorganisms that colonize the GIT. The composition and diversity of the GIT microbiota play a fundamental role in animal health and performance and is an area that is becoming increasingly important with recent introduction of new restrictions on antibiotic and antimicrobial use in animal production. Enhancing the establishment of the GIT microbiota in the initial stages of life can improve health and performance, both in the immediate period and later life. Interestingly, the offspring’s microbiota is heavily influenced by the maternal microbiota, thereby underlining modulation of the maternal microbiota as a promising strategy to enhance the health and growth of the offspring. A probiotic is a beneficial live microorganism that, when supplemented, has beneficial effects on the host’s health. A synbiotic is a combination of a probiotic and another bioactive known as a prebiotic, which is essentially a substrate for beneficial microbes in the gut. Supplementing probiotics or synbiotics in the maternal diet presents a promising strategy to firstly modulate the maternal GIT microbiota, conferring several health benefits to the sow, and secondly to influence the establishment of the offspring’s GIT microbiota, conferring several health benefits to the offspring. The current review discusses the importance and suggested mechanisms of action for maternal probiotic and synbiotic supplementation and details key findings from studies that have investigated the effects of maternal probiotic or synbiotic supplementation in pigs. ABSTRACT: The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens has prompted the reduction in antibiotic and antimicrobial use in commercial pig production. This has led to increased research efforts to identify alternative dietary interventions to support the health and development of the pig. The crucial role of the GIT microbiota in animal health and performance is becoming increasingly evident. Hence, promoting an improved GIT microbiota, particularly the pioneer microbiota in the young pig, is a fundamental focus. Recent research has indicated that the sow’s GIT microbiota is a significant contributor to the development of the offspring’s microbiota. Thus, dietary manipulation of the sow’s microbiota with probiotics or synbiotics, before farrowing and during lactation, is a compelling area of exploration. This review aims to identify the potential health benefits of maternal probiotic or synbiotic supplementation to both the sow and her offspring and to explore their possible modes of action. Finally, the results of maternal sow probiotic and synbiotic supplementation studies are collated and summarized. Maternal probiotic or synbiotic supplementation offers an effective strategy to modulate the sow’s microbiota and thereby enhance the formation of a health-promoting pioneer microbiota in the offspring. In addition, this strategy can potentially reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the sow and her offspring, enhance the immune potential of the milk, the immune system development in the offspring, and the sow’s feed intake during lactation. Although many studies have used probiotics in the maternal sow diet, the most effective probiotic or probiotic blends remain unclear. To this extent, further direct comparative investigations using different probiotics are warranted to advance the current understanding in this area. Moreover, the number of investigations supplementing synbiotics in the maternal sow diet is limited and is an area where further exploration is warranted.