Functional oligosaccharides: substitutes for antibiotics in pig nutrition

In the ever-continuing search to find alternatives to antibiotics in swine nutrition, functional oligosaccharides can play a role. As they cannot be degraded easily, they end up in the hindgut where they are decomposed by bacteria and converted into short-chain fatty acids – and that is welcomed by the cell walls. What kinds of oligosaccharides exist and why are they useful? In swine production systems, dietary antibiotics have been extensively used for prophylactic and growth promotion pur