Meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of the reduction of dietary crude protein on the gut health of post-weaning pigs

Weaning transition is often associated with the occurrence of the post-weaning diarrhoea syndrome (PWDS). The reduction of dietary crude protein (CP) has been intensively used as a strategy for controlling PWDS. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to report the effect of the reduction of dietary CP on the intestinal parameters related to the gut health, growth and diarrhoea of post-weaning piglets. A literature review of the articles published from 2006 to 2019 produced 48 articles and, of these 26 were selected. Parameters (bacterial metabolites, pH, microbiota diversity, intestinal morphology, inflammation markers, growth, faecal score) were extracted, expressed as a percentage of the control diet and analysed using a general linear model which included the study, reduction in points of dietary CP, and the ratio of digestible Lysine and dietary CP (dLys/CP) as factors. The reduction of dietary CP decreased ammonia (p <.0001), pH (p =.039), total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (p =.027), biogenic amines including cadaverine (p =.034) and putrescine (p =.030) and the expression of TLR4 (p <.0001) in the intestine and also reduced the faecal score (p =.002). The dLys/CP ratio increased the level of Lactobacilli and the expression of TLR4 (p <.05), and tended to increase acetic acid (p <.1). Crypt depth, villus height, microbiota diversity and growth remained unchanged. In conclusion, this study confirmed that a reduction of dietary CP could reduce bacterial protein fermentation and the production of potentially toxic metabolites. In turn, this could result in lower intestinal inflammation and a decreased risk of diarrhoea in weaning piglets.Highlights Reducing the dietary crude protein can decrease the fermentation of undigested dietary protein, especially in the large intestine. Lowering undigested dietary protein results in a reduction of the intestinal pH and potentially toxic metabolites, including ammonia and amines. Diets with lower crude protein reduce inflammation of the intestinal mucosa and the post-weaning diarrhoea of piglets without compromising performance

Productive and physiological implications of top-dress addition of branched-chain amino acids and arginine on lactating sows and offspring

BackgroundBranched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including L-leucine (L-Leu), L-isoleucine (L-Ile), L-valine (L-Val), and L-arginine (L-Arg), play a crucial role in mammary gland development, secretion of milk and regulation of the catabolic state and immune response of lactating sows. Furthermore, it has recently been suggested that free amino acids (AAs) can also act as microbial modulators. This study aimed at evaluating whether the supplementation of lactating sows with BCAAs (9, 4.5 and 9 g/d/sow of L-Val, L-Ile and L-Leu, respectively) and/or L-Arg (22.5 g/d/sow), above the estimated nutritional requirement, could influence the physiological and immunological parameters, microbial profile, colostrum and milk composition and performance of sows and their offspring.ResultsAt d 41, piglets born from the sows supplemented with the AAs were heavier (P = 0.03). The BCAAs increased glucose and prolactin (P < 0.05) in the sows' serum at d 27, tended to increase immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgM in the colostrum (P = 0.06), increased the IgA (P = 0.004) in the milk at d 20 and tended to increase lymphocyte% in the sows' blood at d 27 (P = 0.07). Furthermore, the BCAAs tended to reduce the Chao1 and Shannon microbial indices (P < 0.10) in the sows' faeces. The BCAA group was discriminated by Prevotellaceae_UCG-004, Erysipelatoclostridiaceae UCG-004, the Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group and Treponemaberlinense. Arginine reduced piglet mortality pre- (d 7, d 14) and post-weaning (d 41) (P < 0.05). Furthermore, Arg increased the IgM in the sow serum at d 10 (P = 0.05), glucose and prolactin (P < 0.05) in the sow serum at d 27 and the monocyte percentage in the piglet blood at d 27 (P = 0.025) and their jejunal expression of NFKB2 (P = 0.035) while it reduced the expression of GPX-2 (P = 0.024). The faecal microbiota of the sows in Arg group was discriminated by Bacteroidales. The combination of BCAAs and Arg tended to increase spermine at d 27 (P = 0.099), tended to increase the Igs (IgA and IgG, P < 0.10) at d 20 in the milk, favoured the faecal colonisation of Oscillospiraceae UCG-005 and improved piglet growth.ConclusionFeeding Arg and BCAAs above the estimated requirements for milk production may be a strategy to improve sow productive performance in terms of piglet average daily gain (ADG), immune competence and survivability via modulation of the metabolism, colostrum and milk compositions and intestinal microbiota of the sows. The synergistic effect between these AAs, noticeable by the increase of Igs and spermine in the milk and in the improvement of the performance of the piglets, deserves additional investigation

Functional Amino Acids in Pigs and Chickens: Implication for Gut Health

In pigs and broiler chickens, the gastrointestinal tract or gut is subjected to many challenges which alter performance, animal health, welfare and livability. Preventive strategies are needed to mitigate the impacts of these challenges on gut health while reducing the need to use antimicrobials. In the first part of the review, we propose a common definition of gut health for pig and chickens relying on four pillars, which correspond to the main functions of the digestive tract: (i) epithelial barrier and digestion, (ii) immune fitness, (iii) microbiota balance and (iv) oxidative stress homeostasis. For each pillar, we describe the most commonly associated indicators. In the second part of the review, we present the potential of functional amino acid supplementation to preserve and improve gut health in piglets and chickens. We highlight that amino acid supplementation strategies, based on their roles as precursors of energy and functional molecules, as signaling molecules and as microbiota modulators can positively contribute to gut health by supporting or restoring its four intertwined pillars. Additional work is still needed in order to determine the effective dose of supplementation and mode of administration that ensure the full benefits of amino acids. For this purpose, synergy between amino acids, effects of amino acid-derived metabolites and differences in the metabolic fate between free and protein-bound amino acids are research topics that need to be furtherly investigated

Influence of dietary supplementation with an amino acid mixture on inflammatory markers, immune status and serum proteome in lps-challenged weaned piglets

In order to investigate the effect of a dietary amino acid mixture supplementation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged weaned piglets, twenty-seven 28-day-old (8.2 ± 1.0 kg) newly weaned piglets were randomly allocated to one of three experimental treatments for five weeks. Diet 1: a CTRL treatment. Diet 2: an LPS treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS (25 µg/kg) on day 7. Diet 3: an LPS+MIX treatment, where piglets were intraperitoneally administered LPS on day 7 and fed a diet supplemented with a mixture of 0.3% of arginine, branched-chain amino acids (leucine, valine, and isoleucine), and cystine (MIX). Blood samples were drawn on day 10 and day 35, and serum was analysed for selected chemical parameters and proteomics. The LPS and LPS+MIX groups exhibited an increase in haptoglobin concentrations on day 10. The LPS group showed an increased cortisol concentration, while this concentration was reduced in the LPS+MIX group compared to the control group. Similarly, the LPS+MIX group showed a decreased haptoglobin concentration on day 35 compared to the two other groups. Immunoglobulin concentrations were affected by treatments. Indeed, on day 10, the concentrations of IgG and IgM were decreased by the LPS challenge, as illustrated by the lower concentrations of these two immunoglobulins in the LPS group compared to the control group. In addition, the supplementation with the amino acid mixture in the LPS+MIX further decreased IgG and increased IgM concentrations compared to the LPS group. Although a proteomics approach did not reveal important alterations in the protein profile in response to treatments, LPS-challenged piglets had an increase in proteins linked to the immune response, when compared to piglets supplemented with the amino acid mixture. Overall, data indicate that LPS-challenged piglets supplemented with this amino acid mixture are more protected against the detrimental effects of LPS.This study was supported by Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Europe, by Indukern Portugal, Lda., and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Lisbon, Portugal) through projects UIDB/CVT/00276/2020 to CIISA and PEST/UID/AGR/4129/2020 to LEAF. It was also supported by national funds, through FCT Stimulus of Scientific Employment Program to author P.A.L. (DL57/2016/CP1438/CT0007) and a Ph.D. grant (SFRH/BD/143992/2019) to author D.M.R. This work had the support from the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Net-work, integrated in the National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Relevance (ROTEIRO/0028/2013; LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125)

Review: A systematic review of the effects of functional amino acids on small intestine barrier function and immunity in piglets

The need to reduce the use of antibiotics and zinc oxide at the pharmacological level, while preserving the performance of postweaning piglets, involves finding adequate nutritional strategies which, coupled with other preventive strategies, act to improve the sustainability of the piglet-rearing system. Amino acids (AAs) are the building blocks of proteins; however, they also have many other functions within the body. AA supplementation, above the suggested nutritional requirement for piglets, has been investigated in the diets of postweaning piglets to limit the detrimental consequences occurring during this stressful period. A systematic review was carried out to summarise the effects of AAs on gut barrier function and immunity, two of the parameters contributing to gut health. An initial manual literature search was completed using an organised search strategy on PubMed, utilising the search term '' AND ". These searches yielded 302 articles (published before October 2021); 59 were selected. Based on the method for extracting data (synthesis of evidence), this review showed that L-Arginine, L-Glutamine and L-Glutamate are important functional AAs playing major roles in gut morphology and immune functions. Additional benefits of AA supplementation, refereed to a supplementation above the suggested nutritional requirement for piglets, could also be observed; however, data are needed to provide consistent evidence. Taken together, this review showed that supplementation with AAs during the weaning phase supported a plethora of the physiological functions of piglets. In addition, the data reported confirmed that each amino acid targets different parameters related to gut health, suggesting the existence of potential synergies among them

Detection of plant protein adulterated in fluid milk using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis combined with mass spectrometry

peer reviewedThe illegal or unlabelled addition of plant protein in milk can cause serious anaphylaxis. For sustainable food security, it is therefore important to develop a methodology to detect non-milk protein in milk products. This research aims to differentiate milk adulterated with plant protein using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled with mass spectrometry. According to the protein spots highlighted on the gel of adulterated milk,b-conglycinin and glycinin were detected in milk adulterated with soy protein, while legumin, vicilin, and convicilin indicated the addition of pea protein, and b-amylase and serpin marked wheat protein. These results suggest that a 2-DE-based protein profile is a useful method to identify milk adulterated with soy and pea protein, with a detection limit of 4% plant protein in the total protein

Diverse forms of union and the “Gender order”

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