Starch source alters molecular ecological network interaction, functional profile, and short-chain fatty acid production in a porcine gut microbiota

It is complicated and costly to investigate the effect of feed fermentation in pigs in vivo, due to the covariance of other feed-components (such as other fibers) in the swine feed, the ethical considerations (such as using pathogens and toxic compounds) and other uncontrollable factors (such as infectious disease or death during the experiment). In vitro fermentative models are considered excellent tools to allow the screening of a large number of substances, ranging from dietary ingredients to pathogens, drugs and toxic or radioactive compounds, to assess how they alter and/or are altered by gut microbial populations without ethical constraints. While, there is no dynamic in vitro fermentation model for pigs. This study was conducted to modify the human, dynamic, computer-controlled TNO in vitro model of the colon (TIM-2) for pigs and investigate effects of different starches and non-starch polysaccharides on swine microbiome.