category_news
Feed additives for piglets more effective before weaning
Feed additives aimed at improving gastrointestinal health are frequently supplied to piglets after weaning (d28), but this might not be the most effective approach. "Our findings highlight that not just what we feed piglets, but how and when we do it, significantly impacts gut health,” says Dirkjan Schokker, microbiome and gut health researcher at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR, part of Wageningen University & Research).
The environment, including feed and the maternal influence, plays a key role in the colonisation of the gastrointestinal tract of piglets, and the period directly after birth is most critical for its colonisation. Interventions and changes in this early developmental period could therefore have long-term health effects. Promising interventions include feed additives that improve gut functionality. Until now, the impact of additives has mainly been investigated in weaned pigs, when these additives can be administered via solid feed. However, administering interventions before weaning might be more effective to optimise growth and increase resilience around the weaning period and later in life.
In the period before weaning, feed additives can either be administered directly to neonates, or indirectly via sow’s feed. Researcher Dirkjan Schokker and his colleagues compared the effect of different dietary interventions on gut functionality after maternal administration (via lactation feed) to the neonatal administration route (oral gavage). The study considered several feed interventions, including medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), beta-glucans (BG), and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS).
Findings
The effect of the feeding strategy interventions was registered by examining microbiota changes and gene expression. For the maternal administration route, MCFA showed a significant difference in the variety of bacteria in the gut, an indicator for gut health. At d1, only one differentially expressed gene (DEG) was found, at d31 there were 99 DEGs. Zooming in on their biological function revealed links to immune functions and metabolism.
For BG, only 21 DEGs were observed at d31. These DEGs were associated with signal transduction and sympathetic nerve pathways. For GOS, 816 DEGs were observed for GOS at d1, and 77 at d31, where DEGs at d1 were associated with immune processes.
Looking at the neonatal administration route, MCFA showed 94 DEGs and GOS 6 DEGs. Where DEGs in MCFA were mainly associated with cell adhesion processes.
Gut functionality
“Our research shows that the type of intervention and the administration route influence gut functionality of the piglets due to changes in microbiota composition and local intestinal gene expressions. However, the effects differ for the various additives”, says Schokker. MCFA administration led to a more differentially orchestrated response when comparing the neonatal and maternal administration route to the other two additives. “This implies that for each nutritional intervention in early life of a pig, the optimal route of administration needs to be determined”, concludes the research team.