Abstract
BackgroundCreep feeding is used to stimulate piglet post-weaning feed consumption. L-Glutamine (GLN) is an important source of fuel for intestinal epithelial cells. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of creep feeding and adding GLN or AminoGut (AG; containing glutamine + glutamate) to pre- and post-weaning diets on pig performance and intestinal health. Litters (N = 120) were allotted to four treatments during 14–21 d of lactation: 1) No creep feed (NC, n = 45); 2) creep fed control diet (CFCD, n = 45); 3) creep fed 1% GLN (CFGLN, n = 15); 4) creep fed .88% AG (CFAG, n = 15). After weaning, the NC and CFCD groups were sub-divided into three groups (n = 15 each), receiving either a control nursery diet (NC-CD, CFCD-CD) or a diet supplemented with either GLN (NC-GLN, CFCD-GLN) or with AG (NC-AG, CFCD-AG). Litters that were creep fed with diets containing GLN or AG also were supplemented with those amino acids in the nursery diets (CFGLN-GLN, CFAG-AG). Glutamine was added at 1% in all three post-weaning diet phases and AG was added at .88% in phase 1 and 2 and at .66% in phase 3.ResultsFeed conversion (feed/gain) showed means among treatment means close to significance (P = 0.056) and Tukey’s test for pairwise mean comparisons showed that Pigs in the CFGLN-GLN group had the best feed conversion (feed/gain) in the first three-week period post-weaning, exceeding (P = 0.044) controls (CFCD-CD) by 34%. The NC-AG group had (P = 0.02) the greatest feed intake in the last three week of the study, exceeding controls (CFCD-CD) by 12%. CFGLN-GLN, CFCD-GLN and sow reared (SR) pigs had the greatest (P = 0.049) villi height exceeding the CFCD-AG group by 18%, 20% and 19% respectively. The CFAG-AG group had the deepest (P = 0.001) crypts among all treatments. CFGLN-GLN, CFCD-GLN and SR groups had the greatest (P = 0.001) number of cells proliferating (PCNA) exceeding those in the NC-CD group by 43%, 54% and 63% respectively. Sow reared pigs showed the greatest (P = 0.001) intestinal absorption capacity for xylose and mannitol.ConclusionSupplementation of creep feed and nursery diets with GLN and/or AminoGut in the first three week improved feed conversion possibly due to improved intestinal health.
Highlights
Creep feeding is used to stimulate piglet post-weaning feed consumption
Feed conversion showed means among treatments close to significance (P = 0.056) and Tukey’s test for pairwise mean comparisons showed that Pigs in the Creep Fed Glutamine (CFGLN)-GLN group had the best feed conversion in the first three-week period post-weaning, exceeding (P = 0.044) controls (CFCD-CD) by 34%
Creep Fed Control Diet (CFCD)-GLN, Sow-Reared and CFGLN-GLN groups had the greatest (P = 0.049) villi height exceeding those which were creep fed with a control diet and later supplemented with AminoGut (CFCD-AG) by 20%, 19% and 18% respectively (Table 5)
Summary
Creep feeding is used to stimulate piglet post-weaning feed consumption. L-Glutamine (GLN) is an important source of fuel for intestinal epithelial cells. Creep feeding is deemed to be very important during the suckling period for swine practitioners because it (a) increases weaning weight when offered in small and frequent quantities and (b) eases the transition period for the piglets from sow’s milk to the dry feed. The latter has a physiological implication in order to avoid digestive upset such as post-weaning diarrhea and poor growth. The underlying mechanisms include activation of nitric oxide, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), gaseous signaling, and AMP-activated protein kinase pathways as well as anti-oxidative [11]
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