Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42768445›Full record

ArticleJournal of animal science2026

Effect of dietary fiber and tributyrin on nursery pig health, performance, bacteriome, and volatile fatty acid concentration.

Elizabeth M Due, Olivier Munezero, Eric R Burrough, Thomas E Burkey, Samodha C Fernando, Nicholas K Gabler

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of animal science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Elizabeth M DueDepartment of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, United States.
Olivier MunezeroDepartment of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, United States.
Eric R BurroughDepartment of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, United States.
Thomas E BurkeyDepartment of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, United States.
Samodha C FernandoDepartment of Animal Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, United States.
Nicholas K GablerDepartment of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7283-4782

Funding

Foundation for Food and Agriculture ResearchIowa Agriculture and Home Economics StationNational Institute of Food and Agriculture IOW05367National Pork Board 18-147USDA
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dietary fiber and volatile fatty acid (VFA) metabolites have been shown to improve intestinal health and reduce post-weaning diarrhea in pigs. Therefore, the current study was conducted to evaluate the impact of insoluble and soluble dietary fiber sources and butyrate on the intestinal health and growth performance of nursery pigs. It was hypothesized that insoluble and soluble dietary fiber sources or butyrate supplementation would improve nursery pig performance and enteric health. Over two replicates, a total of 610 weaned pigs were assigned to one of five dietary treatments (n = 17 pens/treatment): 1) control diet (CON), 2) wheat bran (WB), 3) beet pulp (BP), 4) corn distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and 5) CON plus 0.20% tributyrin. Diets were fed in two phases (14 and 28 d). Pigs were confirmed positive for rotavirus A, B, and C and F18 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). There was no effect of dietary fiber or tributyrin on the proportion of pigs with normal, soft, or liquid fecal consistency in wk 1, 2, or 3 of the study (P > 0.10). There were no significant differences in average daily gain, average daily feed intake (ADFI), or gain-to-feed ratio (G: F) among treatments in phase 1 (P > 0.10). Tributyrin tended to increase ADFI in phase 2 compared to CON and BP (P = 0.063), and increased ADFI overall compared to CON (P = 0.031), but had no significant effect on final body weight (P > 0.10). Dietary treatment did not affect ileal, colonic, or fecal VFA concentrations on d 7, 10, or 42. However, on d 22, CON pigs had greater fecal acetate, propionate, valerate, and total VFA concentrations than one or more fiber treatments (P < 0.05), with butyrate tending to be greater than WB (P = 0.080). Bacterial community analysis revealed no effect of dietary fiber treatment on alpha diversity, except for DDGS, where d 14 and d 42 communities differed (P = 0.014). Beta-diversity analysis identified distinct clustering between time points (P = 0.001) and between treatments (P = 0.024) using the Bray Curtis dissimilarity matrix. Overall, although bacterial community composition was affected, the inclusion of WB, BP, corn DDGS, or tributyrin did not significantly impact intestinal health, pathogen load, VFA concentration, or growth performance in nursery pigs.

Indexed as

Dietary FiberFatty Acids, VolatileGastrointestinal MicrobiomeTriglyceridesAnimal FeedAnimal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaAnimalsDietDietary SupplementsFecesFemaleMaleSwineDietary FiberFatty Acids, VolatiletributyrinTriglyceridesETECintestinal healthmicrobiomevolatile fatty acids

Identifiers

PMID42768445
PMCPMC13652137

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.