Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract

Pig microbiota influences overall animal health, and changes to the diet can modify gut microbiota composition and animal growth rate, bringing about environmental and economic advantages. Dietary polyphenols, due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, may improve gut health. However, th...

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Main Authors: Flavia Ferlisi, Samanta Mecocci, Katia Cappelli, Gabriele Acuti, Jiayong Tang, Giuseppe Giglia, Elisa Rampacci, Ioannis Mourtzinos, Anastasia Kyriakoudi, Daniele Pietrucci, Luca Mechelli, Massimo Trabalza-Marinucci
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Italian Journal of Animal Science
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2025.2498722
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author Flavia Ferlisi
Samanta Mecocci
Katia Cappelli
Gabriele Acuti
Jiayong Tang
Giuseppe Giglia
Elisa Rampacci
Ioannis Mourtzinos
Anastasia Kyriakoudi
Daniele Pietrucci
Luca Mechelli
Massimo Trabalza-Marinucci
author_facet Flavia Ferlisi
Samanta Mecocci
Katia Cappelli
Gabriele Acuti
Jiayong Tang
Giuseppe Giglia
Elisa Rampacci
Ioannis Mourtzinos
Anastasia Kyriakoudi
Daniele Pietrucci
Luca Mechelli
Massimo Trabalza-Marinucci
author_sort Flavia Ferlisi
collection DOAJ
description Pig microbiota influences overall animal health, and changes to the diet can modify gut microbiota composition and animal growth rate, bringing about environmental and economic advantages. Dietary polyphenols, due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, may improve gut health. However, their use in monogastric diets is still emerging. The present study investigated the effects of polyphenols derived from an olive mill wastewater (OMWW) extract on gastrointestinal histopathology and morphometry and intestinal microbiota composition. One hundred thirty-five female Landrace × Duroc finishing pigs were randomly allocated to three experimental groups fed: a control (C) diet, or C diet supplemented with 74 ppm (P-LOW) or 225 ppm of OMWW polyphenols (P-HIGH). The experiment lasted 85 days, after which 15 animals per group were slaughtered. Final body weight was 148.1 ± 4.6 kg. The morphological analysis of the intestine demonstrated a significant increase in the villus height:crypt depth (VH/CD) ratio in the ileum of pigs from P-LOW and P-HIGH groups and the jejunum of pigs from P-HIGH group vs C. 16S amplicon sequencing analysis showed an increase in two indexes of alpha diversity in the caecum of pigs from P-HIGH vs P-LOW. Differential abundance analysis showed that pigs from P-HIGH had a greater abundance of beneficial bacteria, especially Eubacterium and Treponema, and fewer harmful ones, including Fusobacterium, Bacteroides helcogenes, and Corynebacterium urealiticum. The results suggest that OMWW polyphenols may positively influence the pig gut microbiota and overall intestinal health. Further studies are needed to confirm these data.
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spelling doaj-art-2e847900ce8d44a396794652a2e383222025-08-20T01:51:24ZengTaylor & Francis GroupItalian Journal of Animal Science1828-051X2025-12-012411107112410.1080/1828051X.2025.24987222498722Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extractFlavia Ferlisi0Samanta Mecocci1Katia Cappelli2Gabriele Acuti3Jiayong Tang4Giuseppe Giglia5Elisa Rampacci6Ioannis Mourtzinos7Anastasia Kyriakoudi8Daniele Pietrucci9Luca Mechelli10Massimo Trabalza-Marinucci11Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaAnimal Nutrition Institute, Sichuan Agricultural UniversityDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaLaboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)Dipartimento per l’Innovazione nei Sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali, Universit´ della TusciaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Universit´ degli Studi di PerugiaPig microbiota influences overall animal health, and changes to the diet can modify gut microbiota composition and animal growth rate, bringing about environmental and economic advantages. Dietary polyphenols, due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, may improve gut health. However, their use in monogastric diets is still emerging. The present study investigated the effects of polyphenols derived from an olive mill wastewater (OMWW) extract on gastrointestinal histopathology and morphometry and intestinal microbiota composition. One hundred thirty-five female Landrace × Duroc finishing pigs were randomly allocated to three experimental groups fed: a control (C) diet, or C diet supplemented with 74 ppm (P-LOW) or 225 ppm of OMWW polyphenols (P-HIGH). The experiment lasted 85 days, after which 15 animals per group were slaughtered. Final body weight was 148.1 ± 4.6 kg. The morphological analysis of the intestine demonstrated a significant increase in the villus height:crypt depth (VH/CD) ratio in the ileum of pigs from P-LOW and P-HIGH groups and the jejunum of pigs from P-HIGH group vs C. 16S amplicon sequencing analysis showed an increase in two indexes of alpha diversity in the caecum of pigs from P-HIGH vs P-LOW. Differential abundance analysis showed that pigs from P-HIGH had a greater abundance of beneficial bacteria, especially Eubacterium and Treponema, and fewer harmful ones, including Fusobacterium, Bacteroides helcogenes, and Corynebacterium urealiticum. The results suggest that OMWW polyphenols may positively influence the pig gut microbiota and overall intestinal health. Further studies are needed to confirm these data.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2025.2498722gut healthamplicon-based metagenomicsolive polyphenolsswine
spellingShingle Flavia Ferlisi
Samanta Mecocci
Katia Cappelli
Gabriele Acuti
Jiayong Tang
Giuseppe Giglia
Elisa Rampacci
Ioannis Mourtzinos
Anastasia Kyriakoudi
Daniele Pietrucci
Luca Mechelli
Massimo Trabalza-Marinucci
Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
Italian Journal of Animal Science
gut health
amplicon-based metagenomics
olive polyphenols
swine
title Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
title_full Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
title_fullStr Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
title_full_unstemmed Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
title_short Gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon-based metagenomics, histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
title_sort gastrointestinal health evaluation through amplicon based metagenomics histopathology and morphometry in finishing pigs fed an olive mill wastewater polyphenol extract
topic gut health
amplicon-based metagenomics
olive polyphenols
swine
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2025.2498722
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