Selected Feed Additives Research Articles

PSXI-7 Effects of selected feed additives on feedlot cattle performance when fed diets containing rehydrated corn grain silage

Abstract The use of additives makes it possible to improve body weight (BW) gain and muscle growth, the efficiency of nutrient use, in addition to reducing the incidence of metabolic disorders. The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance, feed intake and carcass production of feedlot Nelore cattle, fed with a high concentrate diet, using different feed additives. Nelore bulls [n = 48; initial BW (BWi = 378.1 kg ± 8.92 kg; 20 mo of age), were used. Bulls were allocated in a collective pen, randomly distributed in two treatments: 1) Sodium Monensin (MON), 26 mg/kg DM; and2) CRINA + RUMISTAR + Hy-D (CRD), blend of essential oils, 90 mg/kg DM + exogenous α-amylase, 560 mg/kg DM + 25 hydroxyvitamin D3, 1 mgּ animal-1ּ d-1 . The experiment lasted 101 d, the animals were weighed fasting (± 16 h) at the beginning and end of the experiment, at the end of the experiment the animals were subjected to carcass ultrasound, dry matter intake (DMI) was measured daily individually using electronic troughs with selector doors (Intergado, PONTA, Betim, MG-Brazil). The initial carcass weight (195.6 kg, P = 1.0) was estimated using the equation HCWi = 0.6587*BWi-53.44 (R² = 0.993), obtained through the reference slaughter of 9 animals, and the final carcass weight measured in the refrigerator. The “step-up” adaptation protocol lasted 15 d, followed by the finishing diet until the end of the experimental period, consisting of ground corn, rehydrated corn grain silage, cottonseed cake, whole cottonseed, sugarcane bagasse, urea and vitamin-mineral supplement. Data were analyzed by SAS PROC ANOVA, using BWi as a covariate when significant. Animals fed CRD had a greater final BW (534.0 vs 515.6 kg, P = 0.003) and increased average daily gain (ADG) by 0.180 kg/d (1.54 vs 1.36 kg/d, P = 0.003). DMI was greater (10.2 vs 9.3 kg/d, P < 0.001) as well as DMI:BW (2.24 vs 2.09 %BW/d, P < 0.001). The feed efficiency did not differ between treatments (P = 0.21). Animals fed CRD presented heavier HCW (305 vs 291 kg, P = 0.004) and ADG carcass (1.08 vs 0.95 kg/d, P = 0.004). The carcass conversion, calculated as kg DM/15 kg carcass produced (143.5 vs 152.6, P = 0.11), carcass yield (P = 0.15), 12th ribeye area (P = 0.52) and 12th rib fat (P = 0.12), were similar among the treatments. Feeding CRD tended to improve marbling (1.67 vs 1.45%, P = 0.08). These results underscore the potential of CRD as an effective alternative to traditional additives in enhancing the performance and carcass quality of feedlot cattle.

464 Awardee Talk: Gastrointestinal tract physiology in young pigs

Abstract It is indeed a great privilege to have been awarded the 2024 American Feed Industry Association Award in Nonruminant Nutrition Research. I am honored to follow in the footsteps of many great non-ruminant nutritionists in the industry. I commenced my career in the pork industry with a PhD in digestive nutritional physiology focusing on the newly weaned piglet that, some 35 yr later, is still the subject of significant interest amongst researchers, veterinarians and practitioners, and producers alike. My research was amongst the first to demonstrate direct relationships between voluntary feed intake after weaning and structure and function of the small intestine, corresponding to production consequences. To circumvent intestinal tract disturbances after weaning, antibiotic growth promotors (AGPs)/prophylactic levels of antibiotics and mineral compounds (e.g., ZnO) were routinely included in diets. With the withdrawal of AGPs and in some jurisdictions, in-feed medications and ZnO, the commercial importance of maximizing feed intake in the post-weaning period, with appropriate inclusion of fiber and selected feed additives, has become even more apparent. Some of the more recent work I have been involved in, still involving the gastrointestinal tract, has explored the interrelationships as to why progeny born to first-litter sows perform worse than progeny born to multiparous sows. This is a global issue for the pork industry, especially in view of increasing litter size, yet remains one that has been relatively underexplored. A series of Australian studies using primiparous and multiparous sows, and their progeny conducted on commercial farms confirmed these findings, and reported some significant physiological, immunological, and anatomical differences between piglets born to different parity mothers. Piglets born to first-litter sows are born and weaned lighter than their counterparts born to older sows, suggesting they suffer poorer acquisition of maternal immunity and delays in intestinal tract development and skeletal muscle both in utero and soon after birth, and around weaning. Piglets born to first-litter sows enter weaning with reduced intestinal tract integrity and show some signs of reduced immunocompetence, which taken together, may impede their ability to cope with the stressors of weaning. Weaned piglets are typically treated collectively and are not managed by parity, but lifelong consequences of being born to a first-litter sow suggests further work needs to be done in this field. Gastrointestinal tract structure and function in piglets, and indeed in all neonates, is intricately associated with ‘gut health’, which was a term not even in the lexicon of the pork industry when I began my career. It is pleasing to see that the study of the gastrointestinal tract continues today, stronger than ever, as advances in science and methodologies allow for greater introspection of this organ and its multi-directional influences on the biology of the pig.

PSXI-8 Effects of selected feed additives on feedlot cattle performance when fed diets containing rehydrated corn grain silage during adaptation period

PSXI-8 Effects of selected feed additives on feedlot cattle performance when fed diets containing rehydrated corn grain silage during adaptation period

A Review of Potential Feed Additives Intended for Carbon Footprint Reduction through Methane Abatement in Dairy Cattle.

Eight rumen additives were chosen for an enteric methane-mitigating comparison study including garlic oil (GO), nitrate, Ascophyllum nodosum (AN), Asparagopsis (ASP), Lactobacillus plantarum (LAB), chitosan (CHI), essential oils (EOs) and 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP). Dose-dependent analysis was carried out on selected feed additives using a meta-analysis approach to determine effectiveness in live subjects or potential efficacy in live animal trials with particular attention given to enteric gas, volatile fatty acid concentrations, and rumen microbial counts. All meta-analysis involving additives GO, nitrates, LAB, CHI, EOs, and 3-NOP revealed a reduction in methane production, while individual studies for AN and ASP displayed ruminal bacterial community improvement and a reduction in enteric CH4. Rumen protozoal depression was observed with GO and AN supplementation as well as an increase in propionate production with GO, LAB, ASP, CHI, and 3-NOP rumen fluid inoculation. GO, AN, ASP, and LAB demonstrated mechanisms in vitro as feed additives to improve rumen function and act as enteric methane mitigators. Enzyme inhibitor 3-NOP displays the greatest in vivo CH4 mitigating capabilities compared to essential oil commercial products. Furthermore, this meta-analysis study revealed that in vitro studies in general displayed a greater level of methane mitigation with these compounds than was seen in vivo, emphasising the importance of in vivo trials for final verification of use. While in vitro gas production systems predict in vivo methane production and fermentation trends with reasonable accuracy, it is necessary to confirm feed additive rumen influence in vivo before practical application.

PSXIII-16 Selected Feed Additives to Improve Diet Digestibility and Carcass Quality of Feedlot-Finished Angus Crossbred Steers

Abstract Our objective was to evaluate the effects of supplementation using different feed additives on the apparent digestibility and carcass traits of feedlot-finished steers fed a diet consisting of 35% forage and 65% concentrate. This study was a randomized block experimental design with two treatments: Diet containing sodium monensin + virginiamycin (MO+VM, 20 ppm and 15 ppm, respectively); and Diet with a blend of essential oils (Crina Ruminants, 90 ppm) + exogenous α-amylase (Ronozyme Rumistar, 560 ppm) + 25-hydroxy-vitamin-D3 (Hy-D, 0.1 ppm), (EO+ENZ+HYD), with nine repetitions each (pens), where each experimental unit was represented by a pen (with two animals each). Thirty-six 50% Angus blood steers with an average initial weight of 400 kg were evaluated along an experimental period of 112 days, with 28 adaptation days and 84 evaluation days, divided into 3 periods of 28 days each. The digestibility evaluation was carried out at the end of the first and third experimental periods, both in a continuous time of 48 hours. For this, daily intake and leftovers were measured, total feces were collected, diets and leftovers from each pen were sampled for laboratory analysis. At the beginning and end of the experiment, using ultrasound, carcasses were analyzed for loin eye area, marbling ratio, subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), and rump fat thickness (RFT). Means were compared by ANOVA using the GLM procedure (SAS, 1993), adopting a significance level of 5%. Fecal output (kg· day-1), both in dry matter and natural matter, and fecal DM content were similar between treatments (P > 0.05). Feeding EO+ENZ+HYD reduced (P < 0.05) fecal starch percentage by 20% and improved (P < 0.05) the apparent digestibility of DM and starch (5.16%, 67.40% and 95.50%) compared with the use of MO+VM (6.41%, 66.47% and 94.27%). These better results suggest an effect of a more favorable fermentation of the diet caused by modulation of the ruminal microbiota, optimization in the use of starch and increase in microbial protein synthesis caused by supplementation with EO+ENZ+HYD. Animals supplemented with EO+ENZ+HYD had greater (P < 0.05) RFT (12.22 mm) at slaughter compared with those supplemented with MO+VM (10.42 mm), and greater marbling and RFT gain over the finishing period (0.58 points and 7.50 mm) than those supplemented with MO+VM (0.32 points and 5.93 mm) after 112 days of feedlot. In conclusion, the blend of essential oils + exogenous α-amylase + 25-hydroxy-vitamin-D3 was effective in replacing the combination sodium monensin + virginiamycin, improving the apparent digestibility of DM and starch, as well as increasing marbling and carcass cover fat deposition of feedlot-finished steers.

Growth performance, meat yields and economics of broiler chickens fed diets containing selected feed additives

Growth performance, meat yields and economics of broiler chickens fed diets containing selected feed additives

An updated assessment of the effect of control options to reduce Campylobacter concentrations in broiler caeca on human health risk in the European Union

Quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) studies have suggested that control options to reduce the concentration of Campylobacter spp. in broiler chicken caeca may be highly effective at reducing the risk of human campylobacteriosis. These QMRA studies have been updated based on scientific evidence obtained in the past decade. The relationship between Campylobacter concentrations in the caeca and on broiler skins after industrial processing was modelled by means of linear regression and combined with a number of consumer phase models (CPM) and dose-response (DR) models. The reduction of caecal Campylobacter concentration as reported for selected feed additives and vaccines, was used to estimate the relative risk reduction expressed as the percentage decrease in human campylobacteriosis cases in the EU associated with consumption of broiler meat. The model outputs suggest that the effectiveness of these control options are less pronounced than previously indicated. For example, the median estimate for the relative risk reduction obtained through a 2 log10 reduction in caecal concentrations was 39% (95% CI 9–73%), whereas previous estimates were between 76 and 98%. The main reason for this finding is that recent studies show lower values for the slope of the regression line; the impact of using newly published DR models and CPMs is smaller. Still, the uncertainty associated to the estimated effects is large, mainly due to uncertainty about the slope of the regression line. Additionally, data on the effectiveness of vaccination and the application of feed and water additives obtained under field conditions are scarce, but they are a prerequisite to assess the risk reduction that may be achieved by these control options when applied in practice.

Wybrane dodatki paszowe stosowane w żywieniu świń

The paper provides an overview of the knowledge of the options of the use of selected feed additives in the feeding of sows and young pigs. Feed enzymes, organic acids, probiotics, prebiotics and phytobiotics are the most commonly used feed additives for these technology groups. Nowadays, in pig breeding and farming, it is not possible to achieve high production performance in the herd without the use of specialised feed additives. They are added to the feed ration always in small quantities, and the effects of their use are often clearly noticeable. They improve the flavour and digestibility of the feed, and thereby have a favourable effect on feed intake, piglets weight gain and sows milk yield, boost pig immunity and displace pathogens from the gastrointestinal system, stimulating the growth and development of the beneficial bacterial microflora. Fed to lactating sows, they have a positive effect not only on the sows, but above all on the growth and development of their litters. This allows maximising the weaning weight of piglets and improving their health and weight gain at further fattening stages. All this contributes to improved production performance and should encourage breeders to enrich pig feed with appropriate specialised feed additives.

56 Effects of mycotoxins and selected feed additives on viability and tight junction integrity of IPEC-J2 cells

Abstract Mycotoxins are deleterious feed contaminants routinely found in cereal gains used in livestock feed. Development of strategies to eliminate mycotoxins and mitigate their harmful effects on the animal is of major importance to the livestock industry. The objective of the current study was to determine the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1(FB1), and selected prebiotic, probiotic, and essential oil blended feed additives, on viability and integrity in porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2). IPEC-J2 cells were treated with each individual mycotoxin (DON, AFB1 and FB1) with or without additives (Microsecure (MS), Biolex (BL) and Encinnate (EN), Biomatrix Inc., U.S.A). Mycotoxins significantly decreased the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) of IPEC-J2 cells compared to control with no negative effects on cell viability at 72h. Biolex and EN increased TEER under a DON challenge. The decrease in TEER by AFB1 was minimized in the presence of MS (9.8%), BL (17.1%) and EN (22.8%) relative to AFB1 (P < 0.0001). The protein abundance of claudin 3 was decreased with mycotoxins (P < 0.0001) and this was partially reversed by the additives relative to control cells with additives. In addition, BL and EN significantly increased claudin 4 protein abundance (P = 0.02) when challenged with AFB1. Encinnate significantly increased TLR2 gene expression when challenged with DON (P < 0.05) with MS and BL had a numerical TLR2 gene expression. A numerical increasing of TLR2 gene expression was also observed with feed additives when cells were challenged with AFB1 and FB1. In summary, mycotoxins led to impaired epithelial tight junction integrity and this was in-part rescued by the additives tested through restoration of cellular integrity and TLR-2 dependent immune modulation.

The effect of pro-, pre- and synbiotics on the health of mink, morphometric parameters of their digestive tract, and microbiological analysis of its contents

<b>The aim of the study was to analyse the effect of selected feed additives (pro-, pre- and synbiotics) on the health of mink, morphometric parameters of their digestive tract, and microbiological identification of its contents. The observations were made on pastel mink assigned to the following dietary treatments: group I – standard farm feed without supplements, group II – probiotic-supplemented feed, group III – prebiotic-supplemented feed, and group IV – synbiotic-supplemented feed. The feed additives were found to affect the growth and weight gains of the mink. Body weight at winter fur priming ranged from 1.45 to 2.54 kg in females and from 2.70 to 4.20 kg in males. During the rearing period (weaning to slaughter), the highest weight gains were observed in the group receiving prebiotics – on average 760 g in females and 1970 g in males. Analysis of the morphometric parameters of the digestive tract showed highly significant differences between means for the groups, except for the weight of the lungs and spleen and the length of the stomach. The mean concentration of total bacteria in the intestinal contents was similar in groups II and III (8.5-9.4 x 10<sup>4</sup> CFU/g), higher in group IV, and highest in the control group (5.9 x 10<sup>6</sup> CFU/g). Among the bacteria identified, <i>Corynebacterium</i> was dominant in all groups. The total fungal count in the intestinal contents was lowest in the mink receiving prebiotics. The dominant fungi were <i>Candida</i>, particularly <i>Candida glabrata</i>. The proportion of fungi of this genus varied between groups from 84.5% to 89.5%. The other fungi identified in the digesta were <i>Rhizopus</i> spp. and <i>Aspergillus</i> spp.</b>

PSVI-37 Effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) and selected feed additives on viability and tight junction integrity of IPEC-J2 cells

Abstract Intestinal epithelial cells represent the frontline of host defense against invasion by enteric pathogens and uptake of potentially harmful substances. Mycotoxins are deleterious feed contaminants routinely found in cereal grains used in livestock feed. Development of strategies to eliminate mycotoxins and mitigate their harmful effects on the animal is of major importance to the livestock industry. The objective of the current study was to determine the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON), a common mycotoxin contaminant, and selected prebiotic, probiotic, and essential oil blended feed additives, on viability and integrity in porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2). IPEC-J2 cells were grown on either plastic or semipermeable membranes until 100% confluence and treated with DON (12.5 uM) with or without additives (0.01 mg/mL Biolex® and 0.0001 mg/mL Encinnate®, Biomatrix Inc.) Use of DON at 12.5 uM decreased the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) by 37.5% compared to control, and led to 88.7% increase in FITC-dextran permeability after 3 days of culture, but with no negative effects on cell viability. The decrease in TEER by DON was minimized in the presence of Biolex (22.2%) and Encinnate (20.5%) relative to control. Treatment with DON also decreased the mRNA (24.0%) and protein abundance (64.4%) of claudin 3 and this was partially reversed by the additives, 11.5 and 11.0% decrease for claudin 3 mRNA and 58.7 and 56.7% decrease for the protein relative to control for Biolex and Encinnate, respectively. In summary, DON led to impaired epithelial tight junction integrity and this was partially rescued by the additives tested.

Effect of selected feed additives to improve growth and health of dairy calves.

The aim was to evaluate the effect of different feed additives on intake, performance, and fecal consistency index (FCI) of dairy calves from 6–60 d of age and its residual effect 15 d after weaning. Fifty Holstein calves (38 ± 1.0 kg BW) were fed 5 L/d of milk plus starter feed until weaning, and corn silage and concentrate after weaning. The treatments were: control (CON), monensin (MON; 30 mg/kg of starter), probiotic E. faecium (PROB; 70 mg/kg of starter), essential oils (EO; 300 mg/kg of starter), or PROB + EO (EOPROB). Fecal score and dry matter intake (DMI) were measured daily, and animals were weighed every 15 d. A DNA extraction from feces was performed to identify the presence of microorganisms (E. coli, Hafnia, Shiguella, Lactobacillus spp, Enterococcus spp, and Enterococcus faecium NCIMB 10415) by PCR. Two 72-h digestibility trials were performed at days 20–28 and 50–56, by total fecal collection. The DMI before weaning was greater for EO (903.0 g/d) compared with MON (794.3 g/d) and EOPROB (783.1 g/d). The FCI decreased during pre-weaning for EO and MON. Average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (FE) did not differ among treatments before weaning. After weaning, DMI and FCI did not differ among treatments. The EO had greater ADG (917.5 g/d) compared with CON (615.8 g/d) and PROB (592.6 g/d). The FE improved with EO (0.72 g/g) over CON (0.36 g/g), MON (0.49 g/g), and PROB (0.36 g/g). The PCR results showed absence of E. faecium NCIMB 10415 in animals fed PROB and CON. Animals fed PROB had greater intake of CP and NDF than animals fed EOPROB. The EO can be added to the dairy calf ration to improve fecal score and increase DMI. The pre-weaning FCI decrease with MON and increase with PROB.

The influence of selected feed additives on mineral utilisation and bone characteristics in laying hens

Abstract The trial with 240 caged ISA Brown laying hens was performed to evaluate the effect of selected feed additives on mineral utilisation as well as biomechanical (breaking strength, yielding load, stiffness) and geometrical (cortex thickness, cross-section area, weight, length) indices of tibia and femur bones. At 26 wks of age the layers were randomly assigned to 10 treatments with 12 replicates (cages) of two birds. In the study a 2 × 5 experimental scheme was used i.e. to 70 wks of age, the layers were fed isocaloric and isonitrogenous experimental diets containing reduced (3.20%) or standard (3.70%) Ca level. The diets with both Ca levels were either not supplemented, or supplemented with the studied feed additives i.e. sodium butyrate, probiotic bacteria, herbal extract blend and chitosan. There were no statistically significant effects of the experimental factors on the indices of the tibia bones. However, the diet with reduced Ca level decreased bone breaking strength, yielding load, stiffness, and mineralisation of the femur bones (P<0.05). The majority of used feed supplements, i.e. probiotic, herb extracts, and chitosan, increased biomechanical indices (breaking strength and yielding load) and mineralisation of the femur bones (P<0.05). Neither dietary Ca level nor feed additives affected dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, N-free extracts, crude fibre and ash digestibility, and P retention and excretion; however, Ca excretion and retention was lower in the hens fed the diets with reduced Ca level (P<0.05). Relative Ca retention (Ca retained as % of Ca intake) was improved by diet supplementation with probiotic, herb extracts and chitosan (P<0.05). In conclusion, this study has shown that decreased Ca dietary level (3.20%) can negatively affect bone quality in layers, while probiotic, herb extracts and chitosan addition may improve the selected biomechanical indices of the femurs, irrespective of Ca dietary concentration.

Evaluation of additive effect of feed additives in crossbred cows under in vitro and in vivo conditions

The Study was conducted to evaluate the additive effect of selected feed additives (Glycerol, a mixture of exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE), a mixture of probiotics and rumen protected methionine (RPM) under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. The optimum dose of pre-mixture of feed additives (PFA) was evaluated by in vitro gas production technique in two stages. The marginal increase in Y-max and in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (IVNDFD) for each incremental increase in PFA was compared graphically and it was found to be 1.7 %. In in vivo trial, 12 crossbred HF cows were equally divided into 3 groups based on milk yield and average days in lactation. The optimized dose of PFA was added to the concentrate supplements without (T1) or with buffer (T2), control group (CG) was fed with the basal diet (roughage: concentrate ratio of 60:40). Results indicated that PFA with or without buffer had no significant effect on nutrient intake and digestibility. Fat corrected milk yield (FCM), milk fat, total solids (TS) and milk protein were significantly (P Lass Than 0.01) increased in TGs than that of CG. From the results, it may be concluded that optimized PFA had an additive effect on milk production efficiency but not on nutrient intake and digestibility. Further, different groups of feed additives can be evaluated for additive effect, which may pave the way for commercial product preparation.

Effects of supplementing Barodon, Bacillus subtilis, and Ampbio on growth performance, biochemical metabolites, and hormone levels in Korean native heifers.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementing feed additives of Barodon®, effective microorganism® (Bacillus (B.) subtilis), and Ampbio® on the growth performance, blood metabolites, stress, and reproductive hormone levels of Korean native heifers. A total of 48 Korean native heifers were assigned to four groups with 6 heifers in each group. The groups were control, Barodon (0.2%), beneficial microorganism (1%), and Ampbio (1%). Animals in all groups were fed a basal diet composed of selected feed additives and water ad libitum for 99days. Results showed that there are significant changes in body weight and daily gain in the Ampbio-supplemented group as compared with the control and other feed additives groups (p < 0.05). The increased level of feed intake (7.30 ± 0.03kg) and feed requirements (10.81 ± 0.52kg) was observed in the Ampbio-fed group followed by the effective microorganism (EM), Barodon, and control groups. There were no significant changes in albumin, glucose, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), and total protein level, but the decreased levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides and the increased level of blood urea nitrogen were noted in the Ampbio-fed group as compared with the control and other feed additive groups. The reduced level of cortisol (p < 0.05) and elevated levels of progesterone and estradiol (p > 0.05) were noted in the Ampbio-fed group as compared to the other feed additive groups. It is therefore concluded that incorporation of Barodon, EM (B. subtilis), and Ampbio in the recommended diet improved the growth and health performance of Korean native heifers.

Effect of selected feed additives on egg performance and eggshell quality in laying hens fed a diet with standard or decreased calcium content

Abstract The aim of the experiment with 240 ISA Brown hens fed the diets with standard or decreased Ca level was to evaluate the effect of selected feed additives on laying performance and eggshell quality. The hens were allocated to 10 treatments, each containing 12 cages (replicates) of 2 birds. A 2 × 5 experimental arrangement was used. From 26 to 70 wks of age, experimental diets containing 3.20 or 3.70% Ca were used. The diets were either not supplemented, or supplemented with sodium butyrate, probiotic bacteria, herb extracts blend or chitosan. The decreased dietary Ca reduced eggshell quality indices in older hens (43-69 wks) (P&lt;0.05) without effect on performance indices. The addition of the probiotic, herb extracts, or chitosan increased the laying rate (P&lt;0.05). In older hens, i.e. at 69 wk, chitosan increased eggshell thickness and breaking strength, while herb extracts increased eggshell thickness (P&lt;0.05). There was no interaction between the experimental factors in performance and eggshell quality. The used feed additives had no influence on fatty acid profile of egg lipids, however diet supplementation with chitosan decreased cholesterol concentration in egg yolk lipids (P&lt;0.05). It can be concluded that such feed additives as probiotic, herb extracts, or chitosan may positively affect performance and eggshell quality, irrespective of Ca dietary level.

Intestinal challenge with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in pigs, and nutritional intervention to prevent postweaning diarrhea.

Gut health of nursery pigs immediately after weaning is tightly associated with their growth performance and economic values. Postweaning diarrhea (PWD) is one of the major concerns related to gut health of nursery pigs which often is caused by infections of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), mainly including F4 (K88)+ and F18+E. coli. The main virulence factors of ETEC are adhesins (fimbriae or pili) and enterotoxins. The common types of fimbriae on ETEC from PWD pigs are F18+ and F4+. Typically, PWD in pigs is associated with both F18+ and F4+ ETEC infections whereas pre-weaning diarrhea in pigs is associated with F4+ ETEC infection. Enterotoxins including heat-labile enterotoxins (LT) and heat-stable peptide toxins (ST) are associated with causing diarrhea in pigs. At least 109 to 1010 ETEC are required to induce diarrhea in nursery pigs typically lasting 1 to 5 days after ETEC infection. Antibiotics used to be the most effective way to prevent PWD, however, with the increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, alternatives to the use of antibiotics are urgently needed to prevent PWD. Immunopropylaxis and nutritional intervention of antimicrobial minerals (such as zinc oxide and copper sulfate), organic acids, functional feedstuffs (such as blood plasma and egg yolk antibodies), direct fed microbials, phytobiotics, and bacteriophage can potentially prevent PWD associated with ETEC. Some other feed additives such as nucleotides, feed enzymes, prebiotic oligosaccharides, and clay minerals can enhance intestinal health and thus indirectly help with preventing PWD. Numerous papers show that nutritional intervention using selected feed additives can effectively prevent PWD.

The effect of essential oils on quality and mineral composition of eggshell

The effect of essential oils on quality and mineral composition of eggshell

Performance, digestive function, and mucosal responses to selected feed additives for pigs

Performance, digestive function, and mucosal responses to selected feed additives for pigs

Comparison of Thermal and Non-Thermal Processing of Swine Feed and the Use of Selected Feed Additives on Inactivation of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV).

Infection with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes diarrhea, vomiting, and high mortality in suckling pigs. Contaminated feed has been suggested as a vehicle of transmission for PEDV. The objective of this study was to compare thermal and electron beam processing, and the inclusion of feed additives on the inactivation of PEDV in feed. Feed samples were spiked with PEDV and then heated to 120–145°C for up to 30 min or irradiated at 0–50 kGy. Another set of feed samples spiked with PEDV and mixed with Ultracid P (Nutriad), Activate DA (Novus International), KEM-GEST (Kemin Agrifood), Acid Booster (Agri-Nutrition), sugar or salt was incubated at room temperature (~25°C) for up to 21 days. At the end of incubation, the virus titers were determined by inoculation of Vero-81 cells and the virus inactivation kinetics were modeled using the Weibull distribution model. The Weibull kinetic parameter delta represented the time or eBeam dose required to reduce virus concentration by 1 log. For thermal processing, delta values ranged from 16.52 min at 120°C to 1.30 min at 145°C. For eBeam processing, a target dose of 50 kGy reduced PEDV concentration by 3 log. All additives tested were effective in reducing the survival of PEDV when compared with the control sample (delta = 17.23 days). Activate DA (0.81) and KEM-GEST (3.28) produced the fastest inactivation. In conclusion, heating swine feed at temperatures over 130°C or eBeam processing of feed with a dose over 50 kGy are effective processing steps to reduce PEDV survival. Additionally, the inclusion of selected additives can decrease PEDV survivability.