A blend of medium-chain fatty acids, butyrate, organic acids, and a phenolic compound accelerates microbial maturation in newly weaned piglets

This study compared the Zn response in selected tissues of weaned piglets fed L-glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic acid (GLDA), while challenged with short-term subclinical Zn deficiency (SZD). During a total experimental period of eight days, 96 piglets were fed restrictively (450 g/d) a high phytate (9 g/kg) diet containing added Zn at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 45 and 75 mg/kg with and without 200 mg/kg of GLDA. No animals showed signs of clinical Zn deficiency and no phenotypical differences were observed. Broken line analysis of Zn status parameters such as liver Zn and apparently absorbed Zn indicated that the gross Zn requirement threshold was around 55 mg/kg diet. Supplementation of Zn above this threshold led to a saturation of the response in apparently absorbed Zn and linear increase in liver Zn. Bone and serum Zn responded to the dose in a linear fashion, likely d

This study examined the effect of a water acidifier containing free and buffered short-chain fatty acids (SCFA-WA) on growth performance and microbiota of weaned piglets. In total, 192 male piglets, approximately 4 wk of age, were allocated to 24 pens (12 per treatment) with 8 piglets per pen. The piglets received either regular water (negative control) or water with the acidifier supplied at 2 L/1,000 L. Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly on pen level. During the first 2 wk, daily visual assessment and scoring of the feces was conducted. Fecal samples of three piglets per pen were collected on days 14 and 42 for high-throughput sequencing analysis of the microbiota. Piglets offered SCFA-WA had significantly improved feed efficiency in the third week (P = 0.025) and over the whole study period (days 0 to 42, P = 0.042) compared with piglets in the negative control group, with a strong tendency observed during the first feeding phase (days 0 to 21, P = 0.055). Furthermore, the water acidifier group had a higher water intake than piglets provided with control water during the second feeding phase (days 21 to 42, P = 0.028) and over the whole study period (days 0 to 42, P = 0.043). There was no significant difference in body weight, average daily gain, or average daily feed intake (days 0 to 21, 21 to 42, 0 to 42). Furthermore, there was no overall significant difference in fecal scoring between the treatments. In terms of the fecal microbiota response, piglets offered the water acidifier showed a significantly higher relative abundance (RA) of genus Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and a lower RA of genus Streptococcus compared to the control. Furthermore, the redundancy analysis showed a positive association between improved feed efficiency and daily weight gain and RA of Butyricicoccus and Faecalibacterium. In conclusion, consumption of the water acidifier containing free and buffered SCFA modulated the microbiota and improved feed efficiency in piglets.