EVALUATING SEASONAL SERUM VITAMIN D LEVELS AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN PIGS FROM ORGANIC FARMS

The analysis of injury characteristics, short-term complications and hidden trauma in critical patients in Tianjin port"8·12"special major explosion accident: a multicentre study

Aim:To study the effect of dietary supplementation of lecithin and carnitine on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in pigs fed high-fat diet.Materials and Methods:A total of 30 weaned female large white Yorkshire piglets of 2 months of age were selected and randomly divided into three groups allotted to three dietary treatments, T1 - Control ration as per the National Research Council nutrient requirement, T2 - Control ration plus 5% fat, and T3 - T2 plus 0.5% lecithin plus 150 mg/kg carnitine. The total dry matter (DM) intake, fortnightly body weight of each individual animal was recorded. Digestibility trial was conducted toward the end of the experiment to determine the digestibility coefficient of various nutrients.Results:There was a significant improvement (p<0.01) observed for pigs under supplementary groups T2 and T3 than that of control group (T1) with regards to growth parameters studied such as total DM intake, average final body weight and total weight gain whereas among supplementary groups, pigs reared on T3 group had better intake (p<0.01) when compared to T2 group. Statistical analysis of data revealed that no differences were observed (p>0.05) among the three treatments on average daily gain, feed conversion efficiency, and nutrient digestibility during the overall period.Conclusion:It was concluded that the dietary inclusion of animal fat at 5% level or animal fat along with lecithin (0.5%) and carnitine (150 mg/kg) improved the growth performance in pigs than non-supplemented group and from the economic point of view, dietary incorporation of animal fat at 5% would be beneficial for improving growth in pigs without dietary modifiers.

Pharmacological levels of dietary copper (150–250 mg/kg) improve growth performance in pigs, but the majority of Cu is excreted in the manure and may contribute to accumulation in the soil. This experiment with 4 levels of dietary Cu supplementation (15, 80, 120, and 160 mg/kg) from weaning to d 56 after weaning was conducted to determine the dose-dependent effects of dietary Cu on growth performance and fecal consistency in pigs. From d 56 to slaughter, all pigs received the same grower and finisher diets supplemented with 15 mg/kg Cu. Each treatment comprised 10 pens with 8 pigs each, mixed males and females, as experimental units. The pigs were housed in a nursery unit until d 40 after weaning and in a grow–finish unit thereafter. Growth performance and fecal consistency were determined in 2-wk intervals until d 56; thereafter, growth performance was monitored between d 56 and slaughter. The Cu supplementation linearly increased ADFI and ADG (P Pharmacological levels of dietary copper (150–250 mg/kg) improve growth performance in pigs, but the majority of Cu is excreted in the manure and may contribute to accumulation in the soil. This experiment with 4 levels of dietary Cu supplementation (15, 80, 120, and 160 mg/kg) from weaning to d 56 after weaning was conducted to determine the dose-dependent effects of dietary Cu on growth performance and fecal consistency in pigs. From d 56 to slaughter, all pigs received the same grower and finisher diets supplemented with 15 mg/kg Cu. Each treatment comprised 10 pens with 8 pigs each, mixed males and females, as experimental units. The pigs were housed in a nursery unit until d 40 after weaning and in a grow–finish unit thereafter. Growth performance and fecal consistency were determined in 2-wk intervals until d 56; thereafter, growth performance was monitored between d 56 and slaughter. The Cu supplementation linearly increased ADFI and ADG (P

Feed-grade antibiotics in pig production were used to not only treat and prevent disease, but to promote growth as well, with improvements in ADG of up to 16% and F:G of up to 6% in nursery pigs common. However, these uses may contribute to antibiotic-resistant microbes that negatively affect human and animal health, and the swine industry seeks alternatives. OmniGen-AF (Phibro Animal Health, Teaneck, NJ; OG), a blend of vitamins, minerals, and microbial ingredients is a dietary immuno-modulator used to support immune function and reduce the negative effects of stressors in dairy cattle. Weaning is inherently stressful to pigs. There are limited data, however, on the effects of OG on growth and well-being in swine. The objective was to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with OG on growth performance in 21-day-old weaned pigs. Barrows (n = 36) and gilts (n = 36) were blocked by weight, and placed in sex-specific pens of three pigs each. Within blocks, pens were assigned to ad libitum access to OG (4 g/45.4 kg∙BW-1ּּּ ∙day-1) or control diets in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. The factors consisted of sex and presence or absence of OG in the diets of a three-phase feeding regimen. There were 6 replicate pens per sex and dietary treatment combination. Compared with gilts, barrows were heavier (effect of sex, P &amp;lt; 0.01), and across diets pigs showed an increase in BW during the 42-d trial (effect of day, P &amp;lt; 0.01). There were no effects (P &amp;gt; 0.10) of diet, or diet by sex on growth performance (ADG, 0.86 vs. 0.84 kg, SE = 0.05; ADFI, 1.42 vs. 1.41 kg, SE = 0.07; and, F:G, 1.66 vs. 1.69, SE = 0.03, for OG and CON, respectively). Fecal consistency scores (1 to 5; 1 = exceptionally firm, 5 = very loose and watery) were affected by day (P &amp;lt; 0.01), increasing (P = 0.02) from day 0 (3.00 ± 0.07) to a peak on day 4 (3.29 ± 0.07), before decreasing to values on d 35 (3.00 ± 0.07) and 42 (3.00 ± 0.07) that were not different from values on day 0. There were no effects (P &amp;gt; 0.32) of diet or sex on scores. No pig deaths occurred during the experiment. In this study, dietary supplementation with OG did not affect growth performance in pigs. The experiment, however, was conducted in a clean, highly managed University facility, and overall pig health appeared excellent as indicated by daily observations, fecal consistency scores, and no mortality occurring during the study. In this situation, it would be difficult to show a positive effect of a feed additive because the pigs were perhaps already performing at or near their genetic potential.

The postweaning period is stressful for pigs due to changes in their environment and diet. The occurrence of diarrhea at this stage is high. Growth promoters such as antibiotics and zinc oxide (ZnO) have been used not only to reduce postweaning diarrhea but also to improve the growth performance of weaning pigs. It has also been shown that the growth performance of pigs is negatively associated with bile salt hydrolase (BSH) in the gut. Antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) and ZnO administration have demonstrated effective inhibition of BSH, which is linked to enhanced growth performance in pigs. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of a plant-based supplement, green tea extract, with butyric acid, and vitamin K (GBK), on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal score, blood profile, and BSH activity of the gut microbiota of weaning pigs. Here, 192 crossbred weaning pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc], aged 21 d, were subjected to a 4-wk-long feeding experiment. Pigs were divided into six treatments (n = 32 per treatment, 8 pens per treatment). After feeding, the average daily gain (ADG) and gain-to-feed (G:F) ratio improved linearly with GBK supplementation. During the feeding period, diarrhea was not observed in the treatment groups, and the fecal scores of the weaned pigs were not affected. Supplementation had no negative impact on the blood profile parameters of weaned pigs, including white blood cell count, red blood cell count, lymphocyte percentage, and blood urea nitrogen. Moreover, supplementation of GBK decreased the TNF-α and IL-6, while immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG) increased. In addition, GBK reduced the abundance of gut microbiota with BSH activity, including Clostridium sensu stricto 6, the Clostridia vadinBB60 group, Marvinbryantia, Muribaculaceae, and Enterococcus. Correlation analysis revealed that gut microbiota function related to secondary bile acid biosynthesis had a strong negative correlation with ADG, average daily feed intake, and G:F ratio of the pigs. The combination of green tea, butyric acid, and vitamin K is an effective alternative to AGP and ZnO for improving growth performance, feed efficiency, and diarrhea score of weaned pigs. In addition, this feeding strategy had a modulatory effect on the gut microbiome, altering BSH activity associated with improved growth performance in weaning pigs.

Our previous study found that soybean isoflavones in soybean meal play an important role in improving growth performance and antioxidant capacity in pigs. However, it is still unknown whether long-term supplementation with daidzein, an active molecule deglycosylated from daidzin, in a corn–soybean meal diet can enhance growth performance in pigs. Thus, in the present study, an animal trial was carried out to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with daidzein on the growth performance and antioxidant capacity of pigs. A total of 80 weaned piglets (40 barrows and 40 females) were assigned to 4 treatments with 5 pens per treatment and 4 piglets per pen and fed a diet supplemented with 0, 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg daidzein for a 72-day trial. In addition, porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) were used as an in vitro model to explore the underlying antioxidant mechanisms of daidzein. IPEC-J2 cells were treated with 0.6 mM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence or absence of 40 μM daidzein. The results showed that adding 50 mg/kg of daidzein to the diet significantly improved body weight on day 72, average daily gain (ADG) during days 0 to 72 and plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity on day 42 (P < 0.05). Treatment with 0.6 mM H2O2 for 1 h significantly decreased cell viability and catalase (CAT) activity and increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and malondialdehyde (MDA) content (P < 0.05), while pretreatment with 40 μM daidzein prevented the decrease in cell viability and CAT activity and the increase in intracellular ROS levels and MDA content caused by H2O2 (P < 0.05). In addition, H2O2 stimulation significantly suppressed the expression of nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), CAT, occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), while pretreatment with daidzein preserved the expression of Nrf2, CAT and occludin in H2O2-stimulated IPEC-J2 cells (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggested that long-term dietary supplementation with 50 mg/kg daidzein improved growth performance in pigs and was beneficial to the antioxidant capacity of pigs. Daidzein exerted protective effects against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in IPEC-J2 cells and the underlying mechanism may be related to the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Extrusion and animal performance effects of extruded maize quality on digestibility and growth performance in rats and nursery pigs

Simple SummaryThe earlier establishment of a health-benefiting intestinal microbiota can be an important strategy to improve intestinal health and subsequent growth performance. Functional oils, such as castor oil and cashew nutshell liquid, have been studied for promoting intestinal health due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the benefits of supplementation of functional oils on modulation of mucosa-associated microbiota, enhancing the intestinal health and growth performance of nursery pigs. It was demonstrated that the functional oils enhanced the intestinal health of the pigs by increasing beneficial and reducing harmful bacteria and by potentially reducing jejunal oxidative stress and enhancing intestinal morphology. Our results suggest that the blend composed of castor oil and cashew nutshell liquid can be used in nursery pigs to modulate the jejunal mucosa-associated microbiota and intestinal integrity of nursery pigs.This study aimed to investigate the effects of functional oils on modulation of mucosa-associated microbiota, intestinal health, and growth performance of nursery pigs. Forty newly weaned pigs (20 barrows and 20 gilts) with 7.0 ± 0.5 kg body weight (BW) were housed individually and randomly allotted in a randomized complete block design with sex and initial BW as blocks. The dietary treatments were a basal diet with increasing levels (0.00, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.50 g/kg feed) of functional oils (a blend of castor oil and cashew nutshell liquid; Oligo Basics USA LLC, Cary, NC) fed to pigs for 34 days divided in two phases (P1 for 13 days and P2 for 21 days). Growth performance was analyzed weekly. On day 34, all pigs were euthanized to collect jejunal mucosa for analyzing the mucosa-associated microbiota and intestinal health, and ileal digesta for analyzing apparent ileal digestibility. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.4. Supplementation of functional oils did not affect the overall growth performance. Increasing supplementation of functional oils reduced (p < 0.05) the relative abundance of Helicobacteraceae, whereas it increased (p < 0.05) Lactobacillus kitasatonis. Supplementation of functional oils tended (p = 0.064) to decrease protein carbonyl and increase the villus height (p = 0.098) and crypt depth (p = 0.070). In conclusion, supplementation of functional oils enhanced intestinal health of nursery pigs by increasing beneficial and reducing harmful bacteria, potentially reducing oxidative stress and enhancing intestinal morphology, without affecting overall growth performance of pigs. Supplementation of functional oils at 0.75–1.50 g/kg feed was the most beneficial to the jejunal mucosa-associated microbiota and intestinal integrity of nursery pigs.

Phytobiotics are plant-derived rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolics, organosulfur compounds, terpenes, and aldehydes. Phytobiotics can be classified based on their origin or chemical structure, with the main categories being essential oils, oleoresins, and herbs and spices. Phytobiotics have gained interest due to their positive effects on animal health, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties resulting in improved growth performance. This review explores the mode of action of phytobiotics based on their bioactive compounds and highlights their impacts on intestinal health and growth performance in pigs. The inclusion of phytobiotics in pig diets has shown promise in mitigate negative impacts caused by environmental and dietary challenges by reducing inflammatory and oxidative stress responses, enhancing intestinal barrier function, and exhibiting antimicrobial properties against pathogens like Escherichia coli. Collectively, phytobiotics showed a diverse biological activity through different mode of actions, resulting in improved growth performance and overall health in pigs, making phytobiotics a valuable feed additive in pig nutrition and production.

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of increasing dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) on growth performance and palatability in growing-finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, a total of 1,050 pigs (initially 104.9 lb) were used in a 28-d study in May 2002. Pigs were fed diets with either 0 or 15% DDGS and 0, 3, or 6% added fat, for a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement. Overall, there were no DDGS × fat content interactions (P = 0.20). There was an improvement (linear, P<0.01) in ADG and F/G with increasing added fat and no difference in growth performance between pigs fed 0 or 15% DDGS. In Exp. 2, a total of 1,038 pigs (initially 102.1 lb) were used in a 56-d study in August 2005. Pigs were fed diets with either 0, 10, 20, or 30% DDGS from the same ethanol plant as in Exp. 1. Overall (d 0 to 56), there was a trend for decreased ADG (linear, P<0.10) and ADFI (linear, P<0.06) as DDGS increased. The greatest reduction occurred in pigs fed more than 10% DDGS. In Exp. 3, a total of 120 growing pigs (initially 48.7 lb) were used in a 21-d feed preference study in October 2005. Pigs were randomly allotted to a pen with 4 feeders, each containing a separate dietary treatment. Pigs were offered diets based on corn-soybean meal, with 0, 10, 20, or 30% DDGS from the same source as in Exp. 1 and 2. For all periods (d 0 to 7, 7 to 21, and 0 to 21), there was a decrease in ADFI (quadratic, P<0.01) as DDGS increased in the diet. The most dramatic decrease was observed between 0 and 10% DDGS. Experiment 1 showed no difference in growth performance in pigs fed 0 or 15% DDGS. In Exp 2, at DDGS contents higher than 10%, there were trends for decreased ADG and ADFI; in Exp. 3, ADFI decreased with increasing DDGS in the diet. In summary, DDGS from the ethanol plant tested can be used at 10 to 15% in finishing diets without reducing pig performance. Higher percentages of DDGS in the diet decreased ADFI in growing and finishing pigs.; Swine Day, 2006, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2006

The present study tested the hypothesis that altering the ratio of omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids (FAs) in the diet will improve growth performance, nutrient digestibility and blood parameters of weaner pigs. In total, 90 crossbred weaner pigs ((Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc, 28 days old), with an average bodyweight (BW) of 6.53 ± 0.71 kg were used in a 6-week experiment. Pigs were blocked on the basis of BW and sex and randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments (5 pigs per pen (2 barrows and 3 gilts); 6 pens per treatment). Treatments consisted of plant-derived n-6 and n-3 FAs (15:1, 10:1 and 5:1). The experimental period was divided into three phases: Phase 1; 28–35 days of age, Phase 2; 36- 49 days of age and Phase 3; 50–70 days of age. Supplementation of varied n-6:n-3 FA ratios in the diet of weaned pigs showed linear increases (P &amp;lt; 0.05) in BW and average daily gain during Phases 1 and 2. The feed:gain ratios reduced linearly (P &amp;lt; 0.05) during Phase 1 and tended to reduce (P = 0.08) during Phase 2 as the ratio of n-6:n-3 FA decreased from 15:1 to 5:1. However, the overall performance of weaners was not affected by the n-6:n-3 FA ratio. Dry matter and nitrogen (N) digestibility increased linearly (P &amp;lt; 0.05) and energy digestibility tended (P = 0.089) to increase linearly with the reduction of n-6:n-3 FA ratio from 15:1 to 5:1 during Week 3 and, in Week 6, dry-matter digestibility increased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) linearly, whereas energy digestibility tended to increase with a decreasing n-6:n-3 FA ratio in the diet. The high-density lipid cholesterol showed a significant (P &amp;lt; 0.05) linear increase at Week 3 and a tendency to increase at Week 6, but no significant effects on other serum lipids were observed. The dietary n-6:n-3 FA ratio did not have a significant effect on white blood cell, lymphocyte, immunoglobulin G and tumour necrosis factor-α concentrations or faecal microbial counts. In conclusion, the reduction of n-6:n-3 FA ratio from 15:1 to 5:1 in the diet did not affect the overall performance of weaning pigs. However, it showed a positive effect on the growth performance of pigs during Phases 1 and 2.

Effects of copper hydroxychloride and dietary fiber on intestinal permeability, growth performance, and blood characteristics of nursery pigs

Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of extrusion on the energy content of corn and broken rice and on growth performance of weaning pigs. In experiment 1, 24 barrows (28 days old, 7.28 ± 0.90 kg body weight (BW)) were used to compare the effects of extrusion of corn and broken rice on the values of digestible energy (DE) in weaned pigs. The DE content in extruded corn (17.45 MJ/kg dry matter (DM)) was significantly greater (P < 0.05) by 5.54% compared with that in corn (16.48 MJ/kg DM), while no significant difference in DE content was observed between extruded broken rice (17.66 MJ/kg DM) and broken rice (17.76 MJ/kg DM). In experiment 2, 120 weanling pigs (21 days old, 5.76 ± 0.07 kg BW) were used to evaluate the influence of substitution corn and extruded corn by different proportions of raw and extruded broken rice on growth performance of pigs. The inclusion of broken rice in the diets improved (P < 0.05) growth performance of pigs during the first week and the 2 weeks post-weaning but not thereafter. However, there was no significant difference in growth performance between treatments in other periods. Overall, this study indicates that feeding weaning pigs with broken rice has beneficial results.

Effects of chito-oligosaccharide supplementation with low or medium molecular weight and high degree of deacetylation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and small intestinal morphology in weaned pigs

Acid-binding capacity of feed in swine nutrition