Sesame meal as the first protein source in piglet starter diets and advantages of a phytase: a digestive study

Soybean meal (SBM) is the protein source that is used most in feeding piglets, but its high price has prompted a search for alternatives. One option is sesame meal (SM), a by-product of sesame oil. This study evaluated the effects of SM and phytase on the intestinal morphology, total trypsin activity (TTA) and specific trypsin activity (STA), apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of amino acids (AAs), and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and energy (E) in weaned piglets. Twenty piglets weaned at 17 days old were placed in metabolic cages in a temperature-controlled room. When the piglets were 21 days old, cannulas were fitted at the terminal ileum. From the fourth day after surgery, piglets received the experimental treatments for nine days, namely an SM or SBM diet, each with or without phytase. The protein source or phytase did not affect villus height, crypt depth, or TTA. However, phytase increased STA. The AID of dry matter (DM), E, crude protein (CP), and AA was similar among treatments, except for arginine, which was more digestible in the SM diets (85.8) than in the SBM ones (81.6). The ATTD of DM and E was higher in the SM than in the SBM diets. Phytase increased the ATTD of Ca (22.7 %) and P (27.9 %). The findings showed that SM can be used as a protein source for piglets and that its consumption increases arginine intake. The addition of phytase to the diet increases the ATTD of P and Ca.Keywords: Amino acids digestibility, arginine, piglets weaning, phosphorus digestibilit

Antibiotic-free diet supplemented with live yeasts decreases inflammatory markers in the ileum of weaned piglets

Emerging bacterial resistance to antibiotics increases the need for effective alternatives to control intestinal inflammation and thus gut disorders in piglets. This study evaluated the effects of including Saccharomyces cerevisiae (strain 1026) and Saccharomyces boulardii (CNCM I-1079) as antibiotic alternatives in the starter diets of pigs on the concentrations of ileal inflammatory markers (nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-12 subunit p40 (IL-12p40), and villus height. Forty piglets were assigned to four experimental diets, namely basal diet (C−), basal diet with antibiotics (C+), basal diet with S. cerevisiae (Sc), and basal diet with S. boulardii (Sb). At 7 and 14 days post weaning, five piglets per diet group were euthanized to quantify the inflammatory markers and to measure villus height. The C− group exhibited the highest concentration of inflammatory markers and the most atrophied villi. The Sc group had intermediate values for both variables. The C+ group had the lowest values for inflammatory markers and the highest villus height was similar to that of the Sb group, which showed low concentrations of inflammatory markers, although not so low as those of the C+ group. Both yeasts could be used as antibiotic alternatives to reduce the use of antibiotics in pig starter diets. However, S. boulardii CNCM I-1079 supplementation controls inflammation and preserves intestinal mucosa more effectively than S. cerevisiae strain 1026.Keywords: cytokines, pigs, probiotic, Saccharomyces, weanin