Gastrointestinal Health and Function in Weaned Pigs: a Review of Feeding Strategies to Control Post-Weaning Diarrhoea without Using In-Feed Antimicrobial Compounds

March 28, 2012 — 

For the last several decades, antimicrobial compounds have been used to promote piglet growth at weaning through the prevention of subclinical and clinical disease. There are, however, increasing concerns in relation to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and the potential of these and associated resistance genes to impact on human health. As a consequence, European Union (EU) banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in swine and livestock production on 1 January 2006. Furthermore, minerals such as zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) are not feasible alternatives/replacements to antibiotics because their excretion is a possible threat to the environment. Consequently, there is a need to develop feeding programs to serve as a means for controlling problems associated with the weaning transition without using antimicrobial compounds. This review, therefore, is focused on some of nutritional strategies that are known to improve structure and function of gastrointestinal tract and (or) promote post-weaning growth with special emphasis on probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, trace minerals and dietary protein source and level.

Heo JM, Opapeju FO, Pluske JR, Kim JC, Hampson DJ, Nyachoti CM, Gastrointestinal health and function in weaned pigs: a review of feeding strategies to control post-weaning diarrhoea without using in-feed antimicrobial compounds, J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2012 Mar 14. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2012.01284.x. [Epub ahead of print]

Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Animal Research Institute, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia Animal Research and Development, Department of Agriculture and Food, South Perth, WA, Australia.