Abstract
As an environmentally-friendly agent, slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) was introduced in drinking water of newly weaned piglets for diarrhea prevention. In total, 72 piglets were employed and 3% SAEW was added into the normal temperature and warm (30 °C) tap water, respectively, for this 33-day feeding experiment. It was found that the total bacteria and coliforms in the drinking water were reduced by 70% and 100%, respectively, with the addition of 3% SAEW. After SAEW treatment, the average daily water and feed intakes of piglets were increased during the first 16 days, and the diarrhea rate was reduced by 100%, with not one case of diarrhea recorded at the end of the experiment. The microbiome results demonstrated that SAEW decreased the diversity of caecum bacteria with normal tap water supplied, and increased the richness of the caecum bacteria with warm tap water supplied. SAEW also increased the abundance of potentially beneficial genera Sutterella and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 and reduced the abundance of pathogenic Faecalibacterium. Moreover, twelve metabolic functions belonging to the cluster of metabolism and organismal functions, including digestion and the endocrine and excretory systems, were greatly enhanced. Correlation analysis indicated that the influence of intestinal pathogens on water and feed intakes and the diarrhea of piglets were decreased by SAEW. The results suggest that SAEW can be used as an antibiotic substitute to prevent diarrhea in newly weaned piglets.