Evaluation of the effectiveness of supplementing micro-encapsulated organic acids and essential oils in diets for sows and suckling piglets

Essential oils improve nursery pigs' performance and appetite via modulation of intestinal health and microbiota

Optimal intestinal health and functionality are essential for animal health and performance, and simultaneously intestinal nutrient transporters and intestinal peptides are also involved in appetite and feed intake control mechanisms. Given the potential of essential oil (EO) in improving animal performance and improving feed palatability, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation of cinnamaldehyde and carvacrol could improve performance and appetite of nursery pigs by modulating intestinal health and microbiota. Cinnamaldehyde (100 mg/kg), carvacrol (100 mg/kg), and their mixtures (including 50 mg/kg cinnamaldehyde and 50 mg/kg carvacrol) were supplemented into the diets of 240 nursery pigs for 42 d, and data related to performance were measured. Thereafter, the influence of EO on intestinal health, appetite and gut microbiota and their correlations were explored. EO supplementation increased (P < 0.05) the body weight, average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) of piglets, and reduced (P < 0.05) diarrhea rates in nursery pigs. Furthermore, EO increased (P < 0.05) the intestinal absorption area and the abundance of tight junction proteins, and decreased (P < 0.05) intestinal permeability and local inflammation. In terms of intestinal development and the mucus barrier, EO promoted intestinal development and increased (P < 0.05) the number of goblet cells. Additionally, we found that piglets in the EO-supplemented group had upregulated (P < 0.05) levels of transporters and digestive enzymes in the intestine, which were significantly associated with daily gain and feed utilization. In addition, EO supplementation somewhat improved appetite in nursery pigs, increased the diversity of the gut microbiome and the abundance of beneficial bacteria, and there was a correlation between altered bacterial structure and appetite-related hormones. These findings indicate that EO is effective in promoting growth performance and nutrient absorption as well as in regulating appetite by improving intestinal health and bacterial structure.

Effect of the supplementation with a combination of plant extracts on sow and piglet performance and physiology during lactation and around weaning

Weaning is a critical period for pigs. Some plant extracts showing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or antibacterial properties, provided to piglets and/or their dam, may improve piglets' robustness at weaning, thus reducing the need for antobiotics. This study investigated the effects of a maternal and/or a direct supplementation of piglets with a combination of plant extracts on sow and piglet performance and their metabolic, immune, inflammatory, and oxidative status during lactation and around weaning. Sixty-four sows were assigned to the control or treated group. Treated sows were supplemented with a powdered plant extracts supplement daily top-dressed on feed from day of gestation (DG) 106 to day of lactation (DL) 28 and a liquid solution top-dressed on feed on DG109. Within each sow group, litters were divided into two groups: a control piglet group and a treated piglet group. A single dose of a liquid solution was orally given to piglets in the treated piglet group. Piglets were weaned on DL28. Blood samples were collected from sows on DG94, DG112, and DL26 and from 2 piglets per litter on DL3, DL14, DL25, and 5 d postweaning to analyze indicators of metabolic, immune, inflammatory, and oxidative status. Colostrum and milk samples were collected at farrowing, DL6, and 26. Maternal supplementation had no effect on sow metabolic, immune, inflammatory, and oxidative status except for fewer lymphocytes on DG112 (P < 0.05) and a lower plasma concentration of non-esterified fatty acids on DL26 (P < 0.05). Maternal supplementation tended to decrease dry matter and gross energy (P < 0.10) and reduced fat and haptoglobin concentrations (P < 0.01) in milk on DL26. Maternal supplementation had no effect on piglets' growth performance and blood indicators during lactation and around weaning. On DL25, the direct supplementation of piglets decreased their neutrophils proportion (P < 0.05), increased the expression of genes encoding pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in whole blood culture in response to lipopolysaccharide (P < 0.05) and tended to decrease the oxidative stress index (P = 0.06). After weaning, these beneficial effects were no longer observed but the supplementation improved piglets' growth performance during the postweaning period (P < 0.05). Plant extract supplementation could thus modify the composition of mammary secretions and improve postweaning performance of piglets potentially related to the modification of their immune and oxidative status before weaning.

Single components of botanicals and nature-identical compounds as a non-antibiotic strategy to ameliorate health status and improve performance in poultry and pigs

In the current post-antibiotic era, botanicals represent one of the most employed nutritional strategies to sustain antibiotic-free and no-antibiotic-ever production. Botanicals can be classified either as plant extracts, meaning the direct products derived by extraction from the raw plant materials (essential oils (EO) and oleoresins (OR)), or as nature-identical compounds (NIC), such as the chemically synthesised counterparts of the pure bioactive compounds of EO/OR. In the literature, differences between the use of EO/OR or NIC are often unclear, so it is difficult to attribute certain effects to specific bioactive compounds. The aim of the present review was to provide an overview of the effects exerted by botanicals on the health status and growth performance of poultry and pigs, focusing attention on those studies where only NIC were employed or those where the composition of the EO/OR was defined. In particular, phenolic compounds (apigenin, quercetin, curcumin and resveratrol), organosulfur compounds (allicin), terpenes (eugenol, thymol, carvacrol, capsaicin and artemisinin) and aldehydes (cinnamaldehyde and vanillin) were considered. These molecules have different properties such as antimicrobial (including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiprotozoal), anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, as well as the improvement of intestinal morphology and integrity of the intestinal mucosa. The use of NIC allows us to properly combine pure compounds, according to the target to achieve. Thus, they represent a promising non-antibiotic tool to allow better intestinal health and a general health status, thereby leading to improved growth performance.

Comparative effects of dietary supplementations with sodium butyrate, medium-chain fatty acids, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in late pregnancy and lactation on the reproductive performance of sows and growth performance of suckling piglets

This study was conducted to compare the effects of adding sodium butyrate (SB), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) to the diet of sows during late gestation and lactation on the reproductive performance of sows and the growth performance and intestinal health of suckling piglets. Twenty-four sows (Landrace × Large-White hybrid; third parity; 200 ± 15 kg) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 4 diets: basal diet (control group), basal diet + 1 g SB/kg (SB group), basal diet + 7.75 g MCFA/kg (MCFA group), or basal diet + 68.2 g n-3 PUFA/kg (n-3 PUFA group). The experiment began on day 85 of gestation and ended day 22 of lactation. Colostrum samples were collected from each sow. After the experiment, blood and tissue samples were collected from 1 randomly selected piglet. The results showed that the weaning-to-estrus interval of sows in the SB, MCFA, and n-3 PUFA groups was shorter than that of sows in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of diarrhea in suckling piglets in the SB, MCFA, and n-3 PUFA groups was lower than that of piglets in the control group (P < 0.05). The fat, protein, IgA, IgG, and IgM concentration in colostrum from sows increased following dietary supplementation with SB, MCFA, or n-3 PUFA (P < 0.05). Comparison with the control group, the mRNA expression of claudin-1, zona occludens 1, and interleukin-10 increased in the jejunum mucosa of suckling piglets in the SB, MCFA, and n-3 PUFA groups, while that of TLR4 decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the Chao1 and ACE indexes of microbial flora in the colon contents of piglets in the SB, MCFA, and MCFA groups increased (P < 0.05), while the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Synergistetes decreased at the phylum level (P < 0.05). In conclusion, during late pregnancy and lactation, dietary SB supplementation had a greater effect on intestinal health and caused a greater decrease in preweaning mortality of suckling piglets than did dietary MCFA or n-3 PUFA supplementation; dietary MCFA supplementation shortened the weaning-to-estrus interval of sows to a greater extent than did dietary SB or n-3 PUFA supplementation; and dietary n-3 PUFA supplementation increased the fat and protein content in the colostrum to the greatest extent.

Effects of dietary supplementation with essential oils and organic acids on the growth performance, immune system, fecal volatile fatty acids, and microflora community in weaned piglets

The present study was conducted to assess the effects of a mixture of essential oils and organic acids on the growth performance, immune system, major fecal volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and microflora community in the weaned piglets. We also evaluated the antibacterial activity of the essential oil mixture on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Three hundred weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly divided into the following 3 treatment groups: basal diet (C), basal diet supplemented with the mixture of essential oils and organic acids (T1), and basal diet supplemented with antibiotics (T2). The mixture of essential oils and organic acids comprised of cinnamaldehyde (15%), thymol (5%), citric acid (10%), sorbic acid (10%), malic acid (6.5%), and fumaric acid (13.5%). In vitro studies showed that the mixture of essential oils extremely damaged the cell structure of pathogenic bacteria by deforming the membranes and disorganizing the intracellular components. In vivo studies revealed that diet supplementation with a mixture of essential oils and organic acids improved the final body weight and ADG of piglets (P < 0.05), increased the concentration of serum complement 4 (P < 0.05), and enhanced the fecal level of isovaleric acid (P < 0.05) compared with controls on day 28. Result of high-throughput sequencing revealed that: 1) a total of 1,177 and 1,162 observed taxonomic units (OTUs) were shared between all treatment groups on day 14 and 28, respectively; 2) the T1 exhibited higher (P < 0.05) beta diversity (unweighted UniFrac distance) than control and antibiotics treatment on day 28; 3) the samples in principle component analysis plot and tree of relative abundance were separated from each other based on dietary treatments and age; 4) Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most 2 dominate phyla; Lactobacillus and Streptococcus were the 2 top species among the recognized microbiota; 5) T1 had higher (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Lactobacillus mucosae than control and antibiotics treatment on day 28. To conclude, the mixture of cinnamaldehyde and citric acids damaged the structure of pathogens in vitro; the mixture of essential oils and organic acids improved the growth performance, increased the fecal concentration of isovaleric acid, and modulated the microflora community in weaned piglets.

Essential oils as alternatives to antibiotics in swine production

This review article summarizes the efficacy, feasibility and potential mechanisms of the application of essential oils as antibiotic alternatives in swine production. Although there are numerous studies demonstrating that essential oils have several properties, such as antimicrobial, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, feed palatability enhancement and improvement in gut growth and health, there is still a need of further investigations to elucidate the mechanisms underlying their functions. In the past, the results has been inconsistent in both laboratory and field studies because of the varied product compositions, dosages, purities and growing stages and conditions of animals. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of essential oils needed for killing enteric pathogens may not ensure the optimal feed intake and the essential oils inclusion cost may be too high in swine production. With the lipophilic and volatile nature of essential oils, there is a challenge in effective delivery of essential oils within pig gut and this challenge can partially be resolved by microencapsulation and nanotechnology. The effects of essential oils on inflammation, oxidative stress, microbiome, gut chemosensing and bacterial quorum sensing (QS) have led to better production performance of animals fed essential oils in a number of studies. It has been demonstrated that essential oils have good potential as antibiotic alternatives in feeds for swine production. The combination of different essential oils and other compounds (synergistic effect) such as organic acids seems to be a promising approach to improve the efficacy and safety of essential oils in applications. High-throughput systems technologies have been developed recently, which will allow us to dissect the mechanisms underlying the functions of essential oils and facilitate the use of essential oils in swine production.

Interactive effects of weaning age and creep feed on the performance of sows and their piglets

The study was conducted to determine the interactive effects of creep feed and different weaning age of piglets on the production performance of lactating sows and performances of piglets. Our study indicated that the piglets provided with creep feed led to a higher BW, ADG at nursery and weaned pigs, and also significant difference on ADFI during nursery phase. Different weaning age had increased ADFI and G:F ratio in pre- and post-weaned pigs.Interactions between creep feed and weaning age had significant difference on growth performances among nursery and weaned pigs. Furthermore, the obtained data suggested that the inclusion of creep feed with increased weaning age may reduce the estrus interval in sows and improve the growth performance of piglet during lactation and postweaning.