January 31, 2018

A new alternative to boost piglets' growth found, and it's not antibiotic

A natural alternative to antibiotics shows promise of serving as growth enhancer for piglets, according to the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

ARS scientists found that L-glutamine—an amino acid produced naturally in humans, swine and other species—fed to piglets produced positive growth and health effects. This finding comes after the issuance of the 2017 Veterinary Feed Directive banning the use of antibiotics in swine diets for promoting growth.

Before the ban, producers used certain dietary antibiotics to improve the productivity of animals after stressful events such as weaning and transportation. Jay Johnson, an animal scientist at the ARS Livestock Behaviour Research Unit in West Lafayette, Indiana, and his colleagues investigated L-glutamine as a natural remedy to improve intestinal health of piglets undergoing stress and improve welfare and productivity.

Some consumers take L-glutamine, as well as the synthetic form glutamine, as a supplement to counter side effects of medical treatments, strengthen the immune system, prevent infections and improve digestive health.

In piglets, stress can reduce immune function and leave the animals more susceptible to disease. Supplements that improve digestive health, nutrient absorption or the intestinal microflora can help remediate these effects and improve the animal's welfare, Johnson said.

In a study published in the Journal of Animal Science in 2017, Johnson and his team weaned and transported piglets and then fed them a dry-feed diet formulated in one of the following three ways: mixed with dietary antibiotics, mixed with L-glutamine and mixed with no supplements.

Piglets on the L-glutamine diet had better growth and intestinal health than piglets in the other groups. Piglets on the L-glutamine diet ate 60% more food than those in the other groups. Piglets that received neither dietary antibiotics nor L-glutamine had increased intestinal damage, reduced growth and increased behaviors associated with illness compared with piglets given antibiotics or L-glutamine.

ARS said it has filed a patent application for this technology.  Rick Alberto