BACKGROUND: The essential oils (EO) carvacrol, thymol, eugenol and trans-cinnamaldehyde have welldocumented antimicrobial properties and offer therefore an alternative for the antimicrobial growth promoters in pig feeds. The aim of this work was to determine the degradation and kinetics of these EO along the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of piglets, which is necessary information for correct application in pig feeds.

In this experiment, the effect of duration and time of feeding n-3 PUFA sources on the fatty acid composition and oxidative stability of the longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle was investigated. Linseed (L) and fish oil (F), rich in alpha-linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA and DHA), respectively, were supplied equivalent to a level of 1.2% oil (as fed), either during the whole fattening period or only during the first (P1; 8 wk) or second (P2; 6 to 9 wk until slaughter) fattening phase. All diets were based on barley, wheat, and soybean meal and were fed ad libitum. Crossbred pigs (n = 154; Topigs 40 x Piétrain) were randomly allotted to the 7 feeding groups. In the basal diet (B), only animal fat was used as the supplementary fat source. Three dietary groups were supplied the same fatty acid source during both fattening phases (i.e., group BB, LL, and FF). For the other 4 dietary groups, the fatty acid source was switched after the first phase (groups BL, BF, LF, and FL; the first and second letter indicating the diet in P1 and P2, respectively). Twelve animals per feeding group were selected based on average live BW. The LT was analyzed for fatty acid composition; lipid stability (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances) and color stability (a* value, % of myoglobin pigments) were determined on the LT after illuminated chill storage for up to 8 d. The alpha-linolenic acid, EPA, and docosapentaenoic acid incorporation was independent of the duration of linseed feeding (1.24, 0.54, and 0.75% of total fatty acids, respectively, for group LL). Supplying fish oil during both phases resulted in the greatest EPA and DHA proportions (1.37 and 1.02% of total fatty acids; P < 0.05), but the content of docosapentaenoic acid was not affected. The proportion of DHA was greater when fish oil was administered during P2 compared with P1 (P < 0.05). There was no effect of diet on meat ultimate pH and drip loss or on lipid or color oxidation.

Two trials were conducted to study the effects of dose and formulation of carvacrol and thymol on bacterial counts, metabolites and functional traits of the gut in weaned piglets. In the first experiment (Exp. I), 25 piglets (28 d, 6.59 +/- 0.48 kg BW) were allocated to five dietary treatments: a control diet, or the same diet supplemented with either carvacrol or thymol at doses of 500 and 2000 mg kg(-1). In the second experiment (Exp. II), 35 piglets (28 d, 7.99 +/- 0.73 kg BW) were assigned to seven dietary treatments: the same control diet as in Exp. I, or this diet supplemented with thymol in one of three formulations (on celite, on alphacel or microencapsulated) at doses of 500 and 2000 mg kg(-1). At 11/12 days post-weaning piglets were euthanised, and digesta from stomach, proximal and distal small intestine were sampled for bacteriological and biochemical analysis. Small intestinal tissue was sampled for histomorphological determinations. In none of the experiments or sections of the gut was the number of bacteria lowered by the carvacrol or thymol supplementation. In Exp. I, the villus/crypt ratio at the distal small intestine for the experimental diets (1.30-1.32) was higher than for the control diet (1.24) (p < 0.05). Thymol fed animals in Exp. II had a lower number of intra-epithelial lymphocytes at the proximal (p < 0.05) and at the distal (p < 0.1) small intestine as compared to control animals. Mean concentration of the active ingredient in the stomach and proximal small intestine for the 2000 mg kg(-1) carvacrol diet was 521 and 5 mg kg(-1) fresh digesta, respectively, and for the 2000 mg kg(-1) thymol diets it ranged between 475 and 647 and between 13 and 24 mg kg(-1) fresh digesta, respectively. Cumulative absorption in the proximal small intestine was higher than 90% for all treatments and was not affected by formulation type. These data suggest that carvacrol and thymol can improve gut health, but evidence for clear antimicrobial effects towards the major culturable bacteria of the pig foregut is limited.

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Although grazing of dairy cows is an integral part of dairy farming in many European countries, farmers today more often choose for zero-grazing systems, where cows are housed throughout the year. Some studies already compared grazing and zero-grazing systems for specific issues such as labor efficiency, environmental impact, or animal welfare. In our study, we perform a more integrated evaluation, considering relevant ecological, economic, and social aspects. This allows for a balanced and more complete comparison of the sustainability performance of the two production methods. We evaluated ten intensive grazing and ten zero-grazing specialized Flemish dairy farms on the use of nutrients and energy, productivity and profitability, labor input, and animal welfare. In addition, we put special effort in formulating useful management advice for farmers. Therefore, we combined a detailed analysis of the sustainability indicators with an intensive interaction and discussion with farmers and farm advisors. Results show that, on average, the zero-grazing farms performed significantly worse from an ecological and economic point of view. This fact is explained mainly due to a less efficient use of concentrates and byproducts. Social sustainability performance did not differ significantly between the two groups. As a result, the integrated sustainability performance was significantly lower for the zero-grazing group. This finding shows that a further shift from intensive grazing to zero-grazing can move dairy farming in Flanders further away from sustainability. An important advice to improve the ecological and economic performance of zero-grazing farms is to optimize cows' rations to include more forages and optimize forage production and use. More detailed site-and case-specific management advice for farmers of both groups was provided during a discussion meeting. We consider this an essential additional step to any sustainability evaluation, since progress can only be made when monitoring results are translated into practical measures.