Protective effect of processed soybean during perfusion of ETEC-infected small intestinal segments of early-weaned piglets

After weaning, piglets frequently have diarrhoea associated with enterotoxic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and rotavirus. In the small intestine segment perfusion (SISP) model, we studied the effect of processed and mould-fermented soybean products on net absorption of fluid. All processed soybean products appeared to protect against the fluid loss upon ETEC infection. Net fluid absorption was highest for cooked soybean followed by autoclaved soybean and soybean tempe. ETEC infection hardly affected net sodium and chloride absorption in segments with soybean tempe. Processed soybean products are beneficial in maintaining fluid balance during ETEC infection, and in case of tempe also sodium and chloride losses are reduced. Therefore mould-fermented soybean in particular may be beneficial in case of postweaning diarrhoea.