The Potential of Mustard Seed Meal to Alleviate LPS-Induced Microbial Shifts in Weaned Piglets

Mustard seed meal, an oil industry by-product, shows promise as a dietary additive in animal feed due to its rich content of bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential. The present study examined its impact on the gut microbiota of post-weaning piglets exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). Twenty-four cross-bred TOPIGS-40 piglets were divided into four groups: C—control group on a basal diet; LPS—group on a basal diet later exposed to lipopolysaccharides; M—group on a basal diet with an 8% w/w mustard seed meal addition; and M+LPS—a combined mustard and LPS group. After 21 days, colonic content analysis using Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that while LPS challenge led to an increased abundance of Spirochaetota and Desulfobacterota in the LPS group, the presence of mustard seed meal kept these levels low in the M+LPS group. Notably, the Firmicutes to Bacteroidota (F/B) ratio decreased from 2.87 to 1.12 in the M+LPS group. Furthermore, Lactobacillus showed a 4.7-fold increase while Lachnospira decreased by 67.7% in the M+LPS group compared to the LPS group. These findings highlight mustard seed meal’s potential to prevent LPS-induced gut dysbiosis, enhancing gut health in weaning piglets.