ALBERT

Description: This work studied the effect of feeding glycerin in bulls that were fed high levels of concentrate on the ruminal environment and in situ degradability of feedstuffs. Four ruminally cannulated young bulls were assigned to a 4 × 4 Latin square arrangement of treatments. The diets consisted of 15% barley straw and 85% concentrate in dry matter (DM). There were four different concentrates: without glycerin, and with 20, 40 or 80 g of glycerin per kg of DM. Each diet was offered for 24 days, the ruminal fluid was sampled to evaluate the ruminal metabolism and to determine the ruminal bacterial population by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, and the in situ degradability of six different feedstuffs was measured. The treatment with the highest level of glycerin provided the lower pH (p 〈 0.001), and the acetic/propionic molar ratio decreased (p 〈 0.001) as glycerin increased. The incorporation of glycerin in the diet did not affect the DNA copies/µL of the total bacteria, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens and Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus (p 〉 0.05) in the DNA extract of rumen fluid, but at high levels increased Selenomonas ruminantium (p 〈 0.01). Very few effects of glycerin incorporation were found for the in situ degradability. In young bulls that were fed high levels of concentrate, glycerin at 20 or 40 g/kg of feed could be included without affecting the ruminal pH and raising the propionic acid, but at 80 g/kg the ruminal pH dropped, despite the increase of Selenomonas ruminantium.

Description: The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether an Allium spp. extract rich in organosulfur compounds, such as propyl thiosulfonate (PTSO), added to the feed of growing-finishing pigs at 5 g/kg enhances growth performance or affects the fecal microbiome, the levels of short-chain fatty acids, or the antioxidant capacity of the animals. Fifty male growing pigs (large white) of 23.07 ± 2.87 kg average body weight were randomly allotted to two treatments in a 103-day trial. The trial was divided into two periods, an initial growing phase (56-days) and a finishing phase (47-days). Two dietary treatments for each phase (growing and finishing) were used: a control diet (CON) and an experimental diet consisting of the control diet to which 5 g/kg of Allium spp. extract was added to substitute sepiolite (GAR). Throughout the study, body weight, average daily gain (kg/day, ADG), feed intake (kg/day), and feed conversion ratio (kg/kg) were measured, while the backfat thickness and muscle depth were determined at the end of the study. Besides, feces samples were taken for bacterial counts by means of real-time PCR and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profile determination, and the antioxidant capacity was assessed in serum and saliva. In the animals receiving Allium spp. extract (5 g/kg) in the feed, ADG increased (p 〈 0.05) throughout the trial, Salmonella spp. and Clostridium spp. counts in feces had decreased (p 〈 0.05) when measured on day 56, and, by day 103, Salmonella spp., Clostridium spp., and Enterobacteriaceae counts had decreased (p 〈 0.05) and Lactobacillus spp. counts had increased (p 〈 0.01) in feces. Regarding the SCFA profile in feces and antioxidant capacity measured in serum and saliva, supplementation with Allium spp. extract significantly increased the levels of propionic, isobutyric, and isovaleric acids and the percentage of total branched fatty acids, while the c2/c3 and (c2 + c4)/c3 ratios were lower (p 〈 0.05) in feces; the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and the cupric reducing antioxidant capacity levels in serum were significantly higher in the same pigs on day 103 than on day 0. Consequently, based on the current results, Allium spp. extract rich in organosulfur compounds, added to the diet at 5 g/kg, had a beneficial effect on the microbiota and would seem to be a possible alternative for increasing the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs. However, further studies on the effects of Allium spp. supplementation on carcass quality are necessary.

Description: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether piglets absorb immunoglobin G (IgG) from goat colostrum and the potential effects of its ingestion on suckling piglets. Thirty-eight piglets with body weights ranging from 1000 to 1700 g were assigned to one of the three experimental treatments: Control group (C), where piglets were allowed to suckle normally, and porcine and goat groups. The piglets from the last two groups were removed from the sows after birth and received an oral 20 mL dose every 3 h of porcine (PC) or goat colostrum (GC), respectively, during first 12 h of life. Then, they were returned to newly farrowing sows to continue suckling until 20 d. The apparent efficiency of absorption (AEA) of IgG at 12 h was calculated as total serum IgG divided by ingested IgG. No diarrhea or symptoms of intolerance were observed at any time. On day 20, body weight and the number of dead piglets were similar in all three treatments (p 〉 0.05). At 12 h, the concentration of goat IgG in the serum of piglets fed GC was 8.11 mg/mL. AEA was 20.9% for goat IgG and 26.3% for porcine IgG (p 〉 0.05). Therefore, goat colostrum seems a promising alternative to study new feed supplements or artificial rearing of newborn piglets.

Description: The aim of this study is to assess the effects of parity number on sow reproductive performance and the chemical and immunological composition of colostrum and immunoglobin concentrations in the sera of the sows. Colostrum samples were collected at 0, 6 and 24 h after the births of the first piglets from 56 sows with different numbers of parturitions (ranging 1–6). The piglets born alive to primiparous sows had lower birth weights (p 〈 0.05) than piglets from second and fourth parturition sows. The colostrum composition was influenced (p 〈 0.05) by parity number: primiparous sows had higher concentrations of dry matter, fat, lactose and non-fat-solids. No parity-dependent differences were found concerning total protein amount. Colostrum composition was drastically affected (p 〈 0.001) by sampling time—the highest concentrations of dry matter and protein and lowest concentrations of fat and lactose were found immediately after parturition (0 h). The study revealed no effect of parity (p ≥ 0.05) on the concentrations of immunoglobulins in colostrum. The immunoglobulin with the highest level in sow serum at day 110 of gestation was IgG, while IgA showed the lowest values and greater variability with respect to parity from an immunological point of view. Regarding the relationship between serum Ig levels at the end of gestation and colostrum Ig, serum IgG showed a strong correlation with colostrum IgG and IgM, while colostrum IgG was strongly related with colostrum IgM, but not with IgA. IgA did not correlate with any other immunoglobulin. The different behaviors of the immunoglobins in colostrum were probably due to IgG coming almost exclusively from the sows’ sera, whereas IgA is mainly synthetized by the mammary gland.

Description: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of crude glycerin in post-weaning diets for piglets on growth performance and digestibility. The study was carried out with a total of 360 piglets over a 39 day period. Animals were blocked by body weight (7.7 ± 0.86 kg) and allotted randomly to one of three dietary treatments containing 0, 2.5 or 5% glycerin (G0, G2.5 and G5, respectively). Considering the whole period, glycerin did not affect the average daily gain. However, the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) tended to decrease or decreased linearly as the amount of glycerin increased, respectively (p = 0.060 and p = 0.039). The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry and organic matter (DM, OM) increased linearly with increasing glycerin in both periods (p ≤ 0.05). At the end of the study, there were no differences between treatments for any of the hormones measured. In conclusion, the FCR and digestibility of DM and OM were improved although the ADFI tended to be lower when glycerin was included at 5%. Consequently, crude glycerin could be used as an alternative ingredient to partially replace sweet whey and wheat in post-weaning diets.

Description: This work studied the effect of dairy cow ration supplementation with inorganic plus organic Se on metabolic status, milk yield, and the quality of milk and dairy products, especially its Se content. Twenty multiparous Holstein Friesian lactating cows were assigned to two feeding treatments. The cows were fed with 22.5 kg dry matter (DM) of total mixed ration (11.75 kg DM of forage plus 10.75 kg DM of concentrate) by head. There were two different concentrates with the same Se content (0.240 mg/kg of ration DM) but with different Se sources: The control (CON) was supplemented with inorganic Se (sodium selenite); and the other (IOSe) was supplemented with sodium selenite plus organic Se (Sel-Plex®), at 0.144 and 0.096 mg Se/kg of ration DM, respectively. The results indicated that, in general, the IOSe treatment did not modify the metabolic profile, and even decreased the total oxidant status (p 〈 0.05) and did not lead to a deterioration of quality and yield of milk. However, milk and cheese from IOSe had higher Se content (an increase of 29.7% and 38.2%, respectively) than CON (p 〈 0.01), but this effect was not observed in yogurt. In general, physical or sensorial parameters of cheeses did not show differences between treatments. Moderate inorganic plus organic Se supplementation may be more effective than inorganic Se, increasing the Se content in milk and cheese, without causing a deterioration in quality or productive parameters.

Description: This work studied the effects of the inclusion of Clostridium butyricum on feed, alone or with carob meal or citrus pulp, on the digestive and metabolic status of weaned piglets. A total of 30 male piglets (weaned at 21 days) is used. There are five dietary treatments: negative without ZnO at high doses (C-), a positive control supplemented with ZnO at 2500 ppm of Zn (C+), supplemented with Clostridium butyricum as a probiotic (PRO), and supplemented with probiotic and 5% carob meal (PROC) or 5% citrus pulp (PROP). During the experiment (27 days), the piglets were periodically weighed and sampled for a serum biochemical, fecal microbiological, intestine histological, and digestive status analysis. The body weight, apparent ileal digestibility of dry matter (DM), and fecal microbiology were not affected by the treatments (p ≥ 0.05). However, the apparent fecal digestibility of DM was lower for the C- treatment than for C+ (p 〈 0.05), and the total concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in feces with C+ was lower than that for the PROC treatment (p 〈 0.05). The treatments with the probiotic had a higher molar proportion of butyric acid in feces than C+, and it was found that C- reached an intermediate value (p 〈 0.01). No general effects of diet were found on the histological measures performed on the jejunum and ileum, and in the serum biochemical analysis (p ≥ 0.05), only the concentration of interleukin-8 was lower for the PROC treatment compared to the C-, C+, and PRO treatments (p 〈 0.05). In conclusion, the intestinal wellness of piglets could be improved with the supplementation of Clostridium butyricum by increasing butyric acid, and this effect was not altered with the inclusion of carob meal or citrus pulp. More studies under commercial conditions are needed, as the effects might be different in more challenging environmental circumstances.