Effect of plasma and/or yeast extract on performance and intestinal morphology of piglets from 7 to 63 days of age

Abstract

-The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of diets supplemented with plasma and/or yeast extract on performance (daily weight gain [DWG], daily feed intake [DFI] and feed conversion [FC]) and intestinal morphology of piglets from 7 to 63 days of age. A total of 288 piglets aged 7 days and weighing 2.57±0.05 kg were studied. A randomized block design consisting of four experimental diets, six repetitions and 12 piglets per experimental unit was adopted. The prestarter I (7 to 21 days), pre-starter II (22 to 35 days) and starter I (36 to 49 days) diets were supplemented as follows: control diet (CD): no plasma or yeast extract; plasma (PL) diet: addition of 6%, 4% and 2% plasma; yeast extract (YE) diet: addition of 6%, 4% and 2% yeast extract; plasma + yeast extract (PL+YE) diet: addition of 3%, 2% and 1% plasma and yeast extract each. From 50 to 63 days of age all piglets received the same diet. No difference in performance was observed from 7 to 21 days and from 7 to 28 days of age, whereas DWG was higher from 7 to 35 days in piglets receiving the PL+YE diet (268, 278, 271 and 288 g/day for CD, PL, YE and PL+YE, respectively). From 7 to 49 days and from 7 to 63 days, DWG (330 and 519 g/day, respectively) and DFI (307 and 647 g/day) were higher in animals receiving the PL-YE diet when compared with those consuming CD (DWG: 295 and 486 g/day; DFI: 266 and 594 g/day). No significant differences in intestinal morphology were observed between piglets receiving the different diets. The combination of plasma and yeast extract elevates DWG, but does not affect the intestinal morphology of piglets from 7 to 63 days of age.

Effects of dietary supplementation of red pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) essential oil on performance, small intestinal morphology and microbial counts of weanling pigs

“…Therefore, both additives (RPEO and chlorohydroxyquinoline) improved villi health, compensating for the lowered VD, providing similar growth performance to the negative control. Previous studies have shown that higher VD does not always result in higher nutrient absorption rates, once enterocyte maturity also plays a key role in the absorption rate.…”

“…For the ultra‐structural analysis of the intestinal epithelium, the duodenum and jejunum samples were processed as described by Rigueira et al . The samples were then observed under a scanning electron microscope (Quanta FEG 250; FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR, USA).…”

“…In all samples, 15 measurements per villi with their respective crypt were obtained. For the ultra-structural analysis of the intestinal epithelium, the duodenum and jejunum samples were processed as described by Rigueira et al 18 The samples were then observed under a scanning electron microscope (Quanta FEG 250; FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR, USA). Electron micrographs were digitally registered and the most representative ones were recorded in the software (xT Microscope Control Server, Hillsboro, OR, USA) to measure the villi density (number of villi per area) (villi/847 882 μm 2 ).…”

The effect of a feed additive supplemented with porcine plasma protein on growth performance and selected biochemical indices of nursing piglets

“…Numerous authors (Heres 2016;Grinstead et al 2000;Lawrence et al 2004) reported that feeding porcine blood plasma as a source of protein increases the feed intake, weight gains, and health performance of piglets when added to their diets in the pre-, and/or post-weaning period. On the other hand, several studies doubt that (Carlson and Veum 2000;Rigueira et al 2013). The lack of consistent results among different papers may be related to factors such as environmental stress, immune challenge levels, and the complexity of the diets used in these studies (Pereira et al 2012).…”

“…In contrast to these findings, in a study evaluating the effect of diets supplemented with plasma and/or yeast protein on the performance of piglets, no significant differences in intestinal morphology between piglets receiving the different diets were observed. The combination of plasma and yeast extract elevated daily weight gains, but did not affect the intestinal morphology of piglets from 7 to 63 days of age (pre-and post-weaning) (Rigueira et al 2013). The reason for inconsistencies in the feed intake and subsequent weight gains independently from plasma supplementation might lie in different feeding rations and/or feeding schedule.…”