Dietary inclusion of high-amylose cornstarch increased Lactobacillus and Terrisporobacter and decreased Streptococcus in the cecal digesta of weanling pigs.

The study investigated the effect of dietary inclusion of high-amylose cornstarch (HA-starch) on cecal microbiota composition and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations in weanling pigs fed high levels of cold-pressed canola-cake (CPCC). Weaned pigs (240 mixed sex; 7.1†±†1.2 kg) were housed in 40 pens (6 pigs/pen) and fed a common commercial diet for 7 d, followed by the experimental diets for 28-d, which contained either 0% or 40% CPCC with either 0% or 40% HA-starch. At the end of the study, one pig from each pen (n†=†8) was selected and euthanized to collect cecal digesta for microbial and VFA composition analyses. The HA-starch increased (P†<†0.001) acetate, propionate, and butyrate concentrations, thereby increasing total VFA concentration (P†<†0.001). There was a tendency for cecal butyrate and total VFA concentrations to decrease when pigs were fed the 40% CPCC diet without HA-starch but increase when fed the 40% CPCC diet containing 40% HA-starch (CPCC†×â€