The present results demonstrated that dietary inulin
increased the cell numbers of enterococci in sows’ faeces
during the gestation and lactation period (P = 0.014).
Moreover, a higher cell number of enterococci was also
measured in the caecal digesta of the suckling piglets of
the inulin treated sows (P ≤ 0.05), stressing the connection
between the composition of the intestinal microbiota
of mothers and their offspring. It should not go
unmentioned that previous studies demonstrated decreased
numbers of enterococci in the faeces of growing
pigs [18] respectively in the colonic digesta of newly
weaned piglets [19] when inulin was added to the diets.
However, due to the higher cell numbers of enterococci
at all measuring time points of the present study, a
systematically enhancing effect of dietary inulin on the
numbers of enterococci in sows can be assumed.