NUTRITION ▶▶▶
the promising phytonutrients identified, two of them are of particular importance and reveal a synergistic effect when used in combination. The first is curcumin, which is found in turmeric oleoresin, and has been used for centuries in Indian and Chinese medicine. It enhances and accelerates antigen recognition by the host, and therefore favours the generation of appropriate antibodies. However, curcumin supplementa- tion is associated with the challenge of low bioavailability, which can be successfully improved by the addition of a sec- ond dietary ingredient: capsaicin. A high quality and suffi- cient quantity of capsaicin can be added to animal feed in the form of the chilli pepper oleoresin. In addition to increasing the bioavailability of curcumin, this ingredient is also known to exert a strong anti-inflammatory effect, via stimulation of the gut TRPV1 receptors, thus triggering a whole range of beneficial physiological responses. However, its physical properties make capsaicin an irritant and difficult to handle ingredient, necessitating the proper micro-encapsulation of capsaicin together with curcumin into a matrix that is safe, easy to handle and use. The interest generated from these studies led to the evalua- tion of a feed additive consisting of turmeric and chilli pepper oleoresins (XT-Xtract Nature) in feed, and as an adjunct to vaccination programmes by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory in 2011. Results in poultry have demonstrated a boost in the ef- ficiency of the coccidiosis vaccine and an increase in the pool of antibodies produced. Beyond exerting a local effect, the additive’s positive benefits included a systemic and global protection in the animal against coccidiosis (parameters were measured in spleen and peripheral blood). These results provided the foundation for further studies. The application and development of such strategies in animal species other than poultry relied on the use of comparative physiology of the species. A more recent field trial aimed to extend this research pro- gramme to swine, to determine if the dietary additive could enrich gestating sow serum antibodies during vaccination and if these antibodies could be transferred through colos- trum and milk, to impact piglet immunity and survival at weaning. The trial was held in Spain by Tamaporc in Aragon, Spain, in collaboration with Avena Nutrition, a leading Span- ish animal nutrition company. The trial was carried out in three consecutive phases. Phase 1 and 3 were the control phases. The additive was given in the second phase to a total of 673 gestating sows divided in two groups, and was supple- mented at a dose of 200 g/t , as an adjunct to the sow vacci- nation programme (colibacillosis vaccination at day 80) from day 80 of gestation for a period of 30 days. The positive effects of the supplementation were first ob- served as an increase in the percentage of piglets born alive (+1.9%; P-value = 0.002), before the piglets even started to ingest the enriched colostrum produced by the sows. The
colostrum quality was found to have a higher content of total proteins, which consisted of both increased levels of albumin and the sum of globulins (see Table 1). Piglets from supplemented sows received a better quality of colostrum during their first days of life, and consequently en- countered lower mortality rates during the suckling period (see Figure 2). It was interesting to note that this effect was particularly noticeable in sows following their first two parities.
Colostrum at the crossroads Immunity in farm animals has traditionally been of greater concern to farm veterinarians and is a key factor impacting the profitability of farmers. While vaccination strategies to acclimatise sows to the bio-system of the farm have already demonstrated beneficial effects on improving the colostrum profile for piglets, new strategies recently arose to satisfy persistent challenges. Some of these options can now be di- rectly handled by nutritionists through feed, as well as ac- companying the work of veterinarians. They consist in sup- plementing a low dose of a defined combination of phytonutrients in order to boost the generation of serum an- tibodies in gestating sows, which can then be transferred to the colostrum. The resulting enriched colostrum provides piglets with an immune-boost from their first day of life that will guarantee a smooth transition to their next productive phase. This already strategy demonstrated beneficial effects in various animal species.
Figure 2 - Piglet mortality during the suckling period.
10.8 11.0 11.2 11.4 11.6 11.8
10.6 Control * Xtract, Pancosma Feed additive* 11.7%
11.1%
Table 1 – Effect of feed additive* supplementa- tion on colostrum quality (673 gestating sows).
Total protein (%) Albumin (%)
Sum of globulin (%) * XT, Pancosma
Negative control 26.2 4.4
21.8
Supplemented control P-value 27.5 4.7
22.9
0.042 0.552 0.084
▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 35, No. 6, 2019
31
PHOTO: HANS PRINSEN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
