The influence of mycotoxins on pig health and performance

Mikotoksini predstavljaju značajan problem u hranidbi svinja. Sekundarni metaboliti plijesni su toksične tvari koje negativno utječu na zdravlje i proizvodnost životinja, te kakvoću njihovih proizvoda. Stvaranje mikotoksina je složen proces i teško je predvidjeti koji će toksin biti proizveden i u kojoj koncentraciji. Hranu najčešće onečišćuju niske koncentracije različitih mikotoksina (aflatoksini, ohratoksini, trihoteceni, fumonizini i zearalenon) koji uzrokuju cijeli niz nepoželjnih učinaka, ovisno o količini koju životinja unese u organizam. Interakcije mikotoksina u organizmu su kompleksne, a mogu imati antagonistički, sinergistički ili zbrojeni učinak, ovisno o kombinaciji i razini u kojoj se pojave. Svinja je jedna od najosjetljivijih domaćih životinja na djelovanje mikotoksina. Pri dugotrajnom konzumiranju onečišćene hrane dolazi do pada proizvodnosti, pogoršanja općeg zdravstvenog stanja i reproduktivnih poremećaja. Jedan od važnijih negativnih djelovanja kod svinja, koje dugotrajno uzimaju niske doze mikotoksina je imunosupresija. Mikotoksini predstavljaju vrlo stabilne spojeve koji dugo ostaju u sirovinama i životinjskim proizvodima, te predstavljaju velik rizik zbog mogućeg prijenosa na ljude.Mycotoxins present a serious problem in swine nutrition. As secondary metabolites of moulds they are toxic substances that have a negative effect on health status and performance of animals and their products. Mycotoxin production is a complex process and it makes it difficult to predict which toxin will be produced and in what concentration. Feed is mostly contaminated by low concentrations of multiple mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxins, tricothecenes, fumonisins and zearalenone), which cause a variety of negative effects depending on the concentration taken in by an animal. Inside the organism, mycotoxin interactions are complex and can have antagonistic, synergistic and additive effect, depending on the combination and level of their inclusion. When it comes to mycotoxins swine is one of the most sensitive farm animals. Long-term consumption of contaminated food can lead to lower production results, health problems and reproductive disorders. Immunosupression in swine is one of more important negative effects resulting from long term low level mycotoxin intake. Mycotoxins are generally quite stable molecules and may remain in raw materials and animal products a considerable time presenting a great risk of possible transfer to humans

Increased number of intestinal villous M cells in levamisole -pretreated weaned pigs experimentally infected with F4ac+ enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strain

Immunoprophylaxis of porcine postweaning colibacillosis (PWC) caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) expressing F4 fimbriae is an unsolved problem. Just as ETEC strains can exploit intestinal microfold (M) cells as the entry portal for infection, their high transcytotic ability make them an attractive target for mucosally delivered vaccines, adjuvants and therapeutics. We have developed a model of parenteral/oral immunization of 4-weeks-old pigs with either levamisole or vaccine candidate F4ac+ non-ETEC strain to study their effects on de novo differentiation of antigen-sampling M cells. Identification, localization and morphometric quantification of cytokeratin 18 positive M cells in the ileal mucosa of 6-weeks-old pigs revealed that they were: 1) exclusively located within villous epithelial layer, 2) significantly numerous (P< 0.01) in levamisole pretreated/challenged pigs, and 3) only slightly, but not significantly numerous in vaccinated/challenged pigs compared with non-pretreated/challenged control pigs. The fact that levamisole may affect the M cells frequency by increasing their numbers, makes it an interesting adjuvant to study development of an effective M cell-targeted vaccine against porcine PWC

Influence of Live Yeast Culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on Milk Production and Composition, and Blood Biochemistry of Grazing Dairy Ewes during the Milking Period

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the influence of live yeast culture (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on milk production, composition, and blood biochemistry of dairy ewes during the machine milking period. The control group (CD) was fed a concentrate mixture and hay and grazed twice daily, while the second (YS3) and third (YS6) groups were fed the same diet supplemented with 3 or 6 g of live yeast culture (Yea Sacc1026), respectively. The treated groups had significantly higher values (p p p p p 1026) at 6g/animal/day as appropriate for field conditions

BREWERS YEAST IN BROILER FEED MIXTURES AS A SUBSTITUTION FOR FISH MEAL

Istražena je upotreba pivskog kvasca kao bjelančevinastog krmiva u hranidbi muških i ženskih pilića u tovu. Istraživanje je provedeno na 12 tovna hibrida linije Ross 08. Pilići su bili podijeljeni po spolu i po vrsti hrane, odnosno bjelančevinastog dijela hrane, na kontrolne i pokusne skupine. Pokusne skupine su hranjene smjesama koje su kao izvor bjelančevina sadržavale pivski kvasac, a kontrolne skupine hranjene su uobičajenim smjesama koje su sadržavale riblje brašno (ali samo u početnoj smjesi za tov) kao izvor bjelančevine. Tijekom 42 dana pokusa pili_i su hranjeni po volji i držani su u kontroliranim zoohigijenskim uvjetima. Pored razlike u podrijetlu bjelančevina smjese su bile podjednake po sadržaju bjelančevina, energije i ostalih komponenti. Praćeni su prirasti tjelesne mase, utrošak hrane, zdravlje i mortalitet pilića. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da nema statistički značajnih razlika (P>0,05) između pokusne i kontrolne skupine istoga spola. Ovakvi rezultati nam govore u prilog zaključku da se bjelančevine životinjskog podrijetla uspješno mogu zamijeniti bjelančevinama pivskog kvasca.The influence of brewers yeast on production results was investigated on 162 Ross 308 broilers Chickens were divided according to sex and according to protein source in feed. Control groups were fed commercial feed mixtures containing fish meal, soybean meal and sunflower meal in starter and soybean meal and sunflower meal in finisher. Experimental groups were fed commercial feed mixtures containing brewers yeast, soybean meal and sunflower meal in starter and finisher as a protein source. Body mass, body mass gain, feed conversion ratio, health status, mortality and carcass characteristics were investigated during 42 days of the experiment. Results showed that there were no significant differences between control and experimental group of the same sex. We concluded that brewers yeast could replace protein of animal origin in feed mixtures for fattening chickens

Reproductive Performance of Late Pregnant Gilts Treated with Baypamun© before Farrowing

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the production results of pregnant gilts, grown under commercial farm conditions and moved from the sow keeping unit to the prefarrowing unit, could be increased by non-specific immunization with Baypamun© (Bayer, Leverkusen, Germany; BPM), an immune response modifier (IRM). We used three groups of pregnant gilts that obtained different treatments. Non-treated group A served as control; two experimental groups were treated on Day 6, 4 and 2 (group B), or on Day 5, 3 and 1 (group C), respectively, before their transfer from the sow keeping unit to the prefarrowing unit. The experimental gilts received i.m. 2 ml of IRM BPM, i.e. inactivated Parapoxovis virus (1 x 106.75 TCID50). Throughout the trial, the numbers of liveborn and stillborn piglets and the duration of farrowing were recorded. Variance analysis with the type of treatment as independent variable showed a significant difference between control (group A) and experimental group B in the number of liveborn piglets (P &lt; 0.0001) as well as between group A and group B (P &lt; 0.0001) or group C (P &lt; 0.0001) in the number of stillborn piglets, respectively. No differences in duration of farrowing between groups were recorded

Dietary supplementation with hydrolyzed yeast and its effect on the performance, intestinal microbiota, and immune response of weaned piglets.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of autolyzed yeast on performance, cecal microbiota, and leukogram of weaned piglets. A total of 96 piglets of commercial line weaned at 21-day-old were used. The experimental design was a randomized block design with four treatments (diets containing 0.0%, 0.3%, 0.6%, and 0.9% autolyzed yeast), eight replicates, and three animals per pen in order to evaluate daily weight gain, daily feed intake, and feed conversion in periods of 0 to 15, 0 to 26, and 0 to 36 days. Quadratic effects of autolyzed yeast inclusion were observed on the feed conversion from 0 to 15 days, on daily weight gain from 0 to 15 days, 0 to 26 days and, 0 to 36 days, indicating an autolyzed yeast optimal inclusion level between 0.4% and 0.5%. No effect from autolyzed yeast addition was observed on piglet daily feed intake, cecal microbiota, and leukogram; however, i.m. application of E. coli lipopolysaccharide reduced the values of total leukocytes and their fractions (neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, and rods). Therefore, autolyzed yeast when provided at levels between 0.4% and 0.5% improved weaned piglets’ performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influence of Porcine Housing Density on Species Diversity and Number of Airborne Microorganisms at Fattening Facilities

Microbiological composition of air, as a factor of ambient conditions in animal facilities can significantly influence performance, health and animal welfare in the swine production. The aim of this investigation was to determine, by monitoring primary microclimatic conditions, the possible association of the number of fattening pigs per unit of housing space with species diversity and number of airborne microorganisms. The research was conducted at a fattening and finishing facility of 450 m2 (equipped with 44 pens designed for 10 animals each) with low-pressure ventilation in three different trials. The first trial was conducted during the autumn-winter period with the capacity of 440 animals (0.7 m2 of pen area per fattening pig), the second trial was conducted during the winter-spring period with 356 animals (0.8 m2 of pen area per fattening pig), and the third trial was conducted during the spring-summer period with 312 animals (1.0 m2 of pen area per fattening pig). The air samples for isolation of fungi and mesophilic, haemolytic, and coliform bacteria were taken and microclimatic conditions were monitored during each trial at the same consecutive weekly periods. According to the data obtained from all trials, the total number of bacteria and fungi did not exceed 104 and 103 CFU per m3, respectively. The most numerous were gram-positive bacteria, followed by gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The total number of airborne microorganisms correlates significantly (at p < 0.05) with porcine housing density. These data may be useful for the assessment of housing density at fattening facilities that will not compromise swine health and welfare regarding the microbiological air quality, and thus may contribute to the implementation of optimal rearing conditions in large-scale animal producing units