Probiotic Strategies in Modern Pig Production: From Gut Microbiota Modulation to Immune and Metabolic Benefits*

Technological group	Period	Probiotic/dose	Production indicators	Nutrient digestibility	Health parameters	Microbiology indicators	Meat quality	Emissions	References
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
PIGS	27–56 d of life	Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis/2 × 10⁹ CFU/kg feed	Body weight ~3.4% Feed conversions ratio ↓~6%	Ether extract ↓~8% Crude fibre ↑~13%	Blood: Fe ↑~14% Uric acid ↑~20% HDL ↑~40% LDL ↓~20% TG ↓~14% LIM ↑~16%	E. coli in faeces ↓~26%			Czech et al. (2018 a, b)
PIGS	~23.3– ~109 kg body weight	B. coagulance/1 × 10⁹ CFU/g, B. lichenformis/5 × 10⁸ CFU/g, B. subtilis/1 × 10⁹ CFU/g T1 – 0.01% T2 – 0.03%	Average daily weight gain T2 ↑~5% Average daily feed intake T2 ↓~2% Feed conversion ratio T2 ↑~7%	Dry matter T2 ↑~4% Nitrogen T2 ↑~3.5% Energy T2 ↑~3%		E. coli in faeces T1, T2 – ns L. spp. in faeces T1, T2 – ns	Sensory evaluation – Colour T2 ↑~9%, Carcass weight T2 ↑~7%	NH₃, H₂S – T1, T2 – ns	Balasubramanian et al. (2016)
PIGS	~7– ~25 kg body weight	Bacillus subtilis/1.0 × 10⁹ CFU/g and B. licheniformis/1.0 × 10⁹ CFU/g PRO1 – 0.1% PRO2 – 0.2% PRO3 – 0.3%	Average daily weight gain PRO3 ↑~9,% Average daily feed intake PRO3 ↓~3% Feed conversion ratio PRO3 ↑~6%; PRO2 ↑~5%	Dry matter – PRO2 ↑~2% Nitrogen – PRO2 ↑~3%; PRO2 ↑~2% Energy – PRO2 ↑~3; PRO3 ↑~4	Blood: TG – PRO1 ↓~40%; PRO2 ↓~30% HDL – PRO3 ↑~45%	E. coli in faeces –PRO3 ↓~3% L. spp. in faeces PRO3 ↑~2%		NH₃ – PRO3 ↓~30% H2S – PRO3 ↓~8%	Cao et al. (2025)
PIGS	~8– ~14 kg body weight	Clostridium butyricum CBN – 2.5 × 10⁸ CFU/kg CBH – 2.5 × 10⁹ CFU/kg	Feed conversion ratio CBN ↓~11% CBH ↓~6% Average fecal score CBN ↓~17%	Dry matter CBH ↑~3% Organic matter CBH ↑~3% Total Carbohydrates CBN ↑~3%	Blood: IgA – CBN ↑~36%; CBH ↑~30% IgM – CBN ~↑20% IgG – CBN ~↑24% IL-1β – CBN ~↓13% IL2 – CBN ~↑14% GSH-PX – CBN ~↑18%	Bifidobacterium in the chyme CBN ~↑833%			Han et al. (2020)
PIGLETS	6–18 d of life	Bacillus amylo liquefaciens/4 0x1.0 × 10⁹ C FU/mL-1 mL/day by oral gavage	Average diarrhoea scores ↓ p ≤0.05	Diamine oxidase ↓ p≤0.05 D-lactate ↓p≤0.05 TNF-α ↓p≤0.05					Jiang et al. (2023)
FINISHER PIGS	~28– ~112 kg body weight	Bacillus licheniformis/1.6 × 10⁹ CFU/g, and Bacillus subtilis/1.6 × 10⁹ CFU/g – dose 0.04%	Feed conversion ratio ↓~7% Average daily gain ↑~15% Mortality ↓~32%			Digestive tract of proximal colon Clostridium ↓~30% Enterococcus ↓~52% Lactic acid bacteria ↑~46% Enterobacteriaceae ↓~22%		Meat quality and basic chemical composition – ns	Rybarczyk et al. (2021)
FINISHER PIGS	~18– ~100 kg body weight	T1. 0,2% Bacillus subtilis/ T2 0.2% Saccharomyces cerevisiae T3 0.2% B. subtilis + 0.2% S. cerevisiae	Body weight – T3 ↑~6% Average daily weight gain – T3 ↑~7% Feed conversion ratio T3 ↓~5%	Dry matter T3 ↑~1%	Blood: BUN – T1;T2;T3 ↓~12–21%	Lactobacillus in faecal T3 ↑~1%		H₂S ↓~5%	Jeon et al. (2024)
FINISHER PIGS	~7.5– ~100 kg body weight	0.01% L. plantarum/1.0 × 10⁹ CFU/g, S. thermophilus/1.0 × 10⁷ CFU/g, Bacillus spp./3.0 × 10⁹ CFU/g	Live body weight ↑~1%				Carcass traits – ns Protein in the longissimus dorsi muscle ↑~6%		Lee et al. (2025 a)
SOWS	90 d of gestation –end of lactation	0.04% – 2.75 × 10⁹ CFU/g viable spores of B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens	Body weight, loss during lactation ↓~31% Backfat loss during lactation ↓~17%		Sows IgG ↑~47% Piglets IgM↑~57% Intestinal mucosal				Konieczka et al. (2023)
PIGLETS	7–28 d of life		End of lactation unit ↑~8% Average individual weight of live-born piglets ↑~6% Average individual piglet weight at weaning ↑~5% Total litter weight gain↑~9%		piglets IgG ↓~30% IgM ↑~100%
SOWS	gestation and lactation	Lactobacillus fermentum/1 × 10⁸ CFU/ml, Basidiomycetous yeast/8 × 10⁷ CFU/mL – 200 ml/day	Total lactation yield ↑~14% The average daily gains/piglets/first to 21st day of lactation ↑~9% Colostrum fat ratio ↑~27%		Lactating sows’ blood MDA ↑~5% SOD ↑~6%				Wu et al. (2023)

[i] ns = not significant; MDA – malondialdehyde; SOD – superoxide dismutase; BUN – blood urea nitrogen; GSH-PX – glutathione peroxidase; HDL – high-density lipoprotein, LDL – low-density lipoprotein, TG – triglycerides, LIM – lymphocyte.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2026-0018 | Journal eISSN: 2300-8733 (formerly 1642-3402) | Journal ISSN: 1642-3402

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Language: English

Submitted on: Jul 15, 2025

Accepted on: Feb 24, 2026

Published on: Oct 5, 2026

Published by: National Research Institute of Animal Production

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

gut health,

immune modulation,

production performance,

physiological parameters,

pigs,

Related subjects:

© 2026 Fabian Domański, Anna Czech, published by National Research Institute of Animal Production
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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