Impact of Diet Nutritional Quality on Swine Gastrointestinal Health and Growth Performance

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 December 2024 | Viewed by 1324

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Faculty of Agrarian Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
Interests: animal husbandry; animal physiology; animal welfare; immunomodulation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding the interactions between nutrition and the immune system is crucial for adjusting nutrient requirements and dietary formulations to optimize swine production efficiency from the early stages. In this regard, the selection of the best feed additives to be included in the diet is essential due to their potential to enhance the well-being of pigs in ways beyond providing necessary nutrients. Many additives elicit positive effects on pig health and performance by altering the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract or by possessing immunomodulatory properties. Consequently, there is a need to gain better insights into the underlying physiological, nutritional, and immunological adaptations occurring in the gastrointestinal tract at different production stages, enabling the practical application of nutritional approaches to support organ function and immunity.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: health and immune status effects on nutrient partitioning and the nutrient requirements of swine; intestinal health and its effects on swine immunity and nutrition; the toxins and antinutritional factors of common feedstuffs fed to swine; the effects of the physical form of feed on pig performance and health; the impact of stress on nutrient metabolism, gastrointestinal tract development, and different stages of pig production; the potential implications of improved health provided by traditional feed ingredients or alternative ingredients; and microbiome and welfare interactions with swine nutrition and production.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mayra Anton Dib Saleh
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • alternative feedstuffs
  • feed additives
  • immunomodulation
  • intestinal biomarkers
  • intestinal microbiota
  • intestinal morphometry
  • metabolism
  • multi-omics
  • physiological stress
  • pig immunity and welfare

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 2441 KiB  
Article
Different Physiochemical Properties of Novel Fibre Sources in the Diet of Weaned Pigs Influence Animal Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, and Caecal Fermentation
by Agnieszka Rybicka, Pedro Medel, Emilio Gómez, María Dolores Carro and Javier García
Animals 2024, 14(17), 2612; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14172612 - 8 Sep 2024
Viewed by 995
Abstract
The effect of including micronised fibre sources (FS) differing in fermentability and hydration capacity (HC) on growth performance, faecal digestibility, and caecal fermentation was investigated in piglets. There were four dietary treatments: a control diet (CON) and three treatments differing in the HC [...] Read more.
The effect of including micronised fibre sources (FS) differing in fermentability and hydration capacity (HC) on growth performance, faecal digestibility, and caecal fermentation was investigated in piglets. There were four dietary treatments: a control diet (CON) and three treatments differing in the HC and fermentability of FS added at 1.5% to prestarter (28–42 d) and starter (42–61 d) diets. These were: LHC (low-HC by-product-based insoluble fibre (IF) with a prebiotic fraction (PF) from chicory root); MHC (medium-HC by-product-based IF with a PF); and HHC (high-HC non-fermentable wood-based IF with no PF). There were eight replicates per treatment. Over the entire period, LHC and MHC piglets showed a 10% increase in daily growth and feed intake (p ≤ 0.019) and tended to have a reduced feed conversion ratio (p = 0.087) compared to HHC piglets. At 42 d, faecal protein digestibility increased by 5% in the LHC and MHC groups compared with the HHC group (p = 0.035) and did not differ from the CON group. Both LHC and MHC fibres were more fermented in vitro with caecal inocula from 61 d old piglets than HHC fibre (p ≤ 0.003). These results suggest that balanced soluble and insoluble fibre concentrates can improve piglet performance. Full article
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