Alternative Strategies for the Use of Antibiotics during the Post-Weaning Stage in Pigs Raised in Intensive Production Systems

With the objective of promoting animal health, a review was conducted on alternative strategies to the use of antibiotics during post-weaning in pig production. A bibliometric analysis was performed on articles published in Scopus and Web of Science from 2000 to the present using VOSviewer and Bibliometrics. The increase in the number of articles over the last five years highlights the growing importance of using alternatives such as probiotics, prebiotics, and phytobiotics. Probiotics restore the balance of the microbiota, strengthen the intestinal barrier, and modulate the immune response, while prebiotics promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria and the production of short-chain fatty acids. Phytobiotics improve production performance and intestinal health due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. However, these types of strategies still face a number of challenges, such as variability in the composition of phytobiotics and the need to standardize doses and combinations of bioactive compounds. The development of these alternatives is a fundamental strategy for reducing the use of antimicrobials in animal feed, improving animal welfare, and moving toward more sustainable pig production systems.