will become putrefactive, using protein as the primary nutrient source. Protein breakdown leads to increased levels of branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) and ammonia, and is, therefore, indicative of a less healthy gut. The provision of xy- lo-oligomers as a result of arabinoxylan breakdown by xyla- nase supplementation has been shown to reduce BCFA.
Stimbiotic supplementation The addition of xylo-oligomers directly to animal diets has been explored and several benefits have been demonstrat- ed: better gut integrity; endogenous enzyme; and modula- tion of the immune response. The inclusion of XOS in wean- ling pigs’ diets enhances the immune function and improves the growth of the intestinal mucosa layer as well as the di- versity of intestinal microbiota. In fact, a diet supplemented with xylanase and a specific XOS will both favorably acceler- ate and increase the fermentative capacity of the hindgut microbiome. The supplementation of the xylo-oligomers is at a very low inclusion rate, so it cannot simply be a sub- strate that generates a quantity of end-product. Instead, the low quantity must be signaling the microbiome to use the fi- bre. It appears that any additive that has the ability to stimu- late a fibre-degrading microbiome to increase fermentability without becoming the substrate should be defined as “stimbiotic.” Stimbiotic supplementation has been shown to improve performance compared to the control group in both nursery and grow-finish trials (Figure 1). This dual mecha- nism provides the same positive impacts of added xylanase mentioned above, and then helps speed up that process by providing the xylo-oligomers with a signal for the microbi- ome to start using the fibre. In studies where this combina- tion was fed to pigs, there was a reduction in tumor necrosis
factor alpha, a decrease in branched-chained amino acids, and an increase in the total VFA concentration present in the blood. The pigs consuming this combination were under less stress, maintained a better gut health, and increased fer- mentation of the positive SCFAs, allowing them to perform better than the control group. A shift can also be observed in the bacteria present in the lower gastrointestinal tract with more beneficial bacteria producing clostridia cluster XIV and bacilli populations, and fewer proteobacteria, including Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. populations.
Carbohydrase Carbohydrases are an asset as swine producers and nutrition- ists implement feeding strategies that can improve the per- formance and health of the herd. In a recent trial, pigs under a health-challenged system performed better in terms of growth and livability when a carbohydrase was offered than unsupplemented pigs. However, the carbohydrase response takes some time. By supplementing xylo-oligomers in addi- tion to the carbohydrase, the response time can be reduced and a better response achieved. In a separate trial – with pigs also experiencing a natural health challenge – the pigs re- ceived a diet supplemented with both xylo-oligomers and a xylanase and there was an improvement in livability com- pared to the control group (96.2% vs 87.6%) and xylanase treatment (91.4%) (Figure 2).
Improved lower gut fibre fermentation has beneficial effects in terms of animal performance, gut function and livability. Feed additives that stimulate the fermentation of fibre in the lower gut (stimbiotics), such as Signis, can be used to achieve this goal.
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 4, 2020 25
A trial on pigs consuming a diet supple- mented with both xylo-oli- gomers and a xylanase demonstrated an improvement in livability.
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