XII - 12th International Symposium - Digestive Physiology of Pigs

Digestive
Physiology
of Pigs
results indicate that dietary butyrate functions, at least
partly, to relieve weaning diarrhea by repairing damage to
the intestine and improving antioxidant indices.
Key words: butyrate, weaning diarrhea, damage repair
2008 Influence of grain type (wheat/barley), grinding
intensity (coarse/fine) and fibre content on the
incidence of epithelial alterations of the gastric pars
oesophagea in fattening pigs. S. J. Sander* 1 , M. Wintermann
1 , A. Moesseler 1 , C. Schulze Langenhorst 2 , G. Stalljohann
3 , and J. Kamphues 1 , 1 Institute for Animal Nutrition,
University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover,
Germany, 2 Haus Düsse, Centre for Agriculture, Bad Sassendorf,
Germany, 3 Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-
Westphalia, Münster, Germany.
Epithelial alterations of the pars esophagea in the stomach
are an ongoing problem in swine production, regarding
fattening as well as reproduction units. Although it is well
known that a finely ground diet favors the incidence of gastric
ulcers in pigs it is also accepted as a multifactorial disease,
especially pushed by various stress factors. Therefore the
aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of epithelial
alterations of the pars esophagea in fattening pigs housed
under high standard conditions (including a short distance
to the abattoir) fed diets differing in their grinding intensity
and the crude fiber content. A total of 253 pigs were
distributed to 4 feeding groups and fattened to an average
body weight of 120 kg. The animals were fed either a wheatbased,
finely ground (Wf), a wheat-based, coarsely ground
(Wc), a barley-based, finely ground (Bf) or a wheat-based,
finely ground diet supplemented with beet pulp (Wf+). A
2-phase feeding system was applied with diets identical in
energy and protein content. At the abattoir stomachs of 77
pigs were taken and evaluated using a macroscopic score
differentiating the degree of hyperkeratosis (0 = none up to
3 = high-grade), erosion (4) and ulceration (5). Furthermore,
performance data and carcass traits were obtained.
Neither performance data (daily gain: 813 g; FCR: 2.53)
nor carcass traits differed between the feeding groups. But
major differences were seen in terms of gastric health: the
coarsely ground diet Wc resulted in the significantly lowest
macroscopic score (Wc: 0.955 ± 0.449 a ; Wf: 1.78 ± 1.01 b ;
Bf: 1.37 ± 0,441 b ; Wf+: 1.47 ± 0.423 b ). Additionally only after
feeding the Wf diet, 17.7% of the animals had ulcerations
at slaughter. Numerically lower scores than in the Wf group
were obtained after feeding the diets with higher crude fiber
content (Bf and Wf+). It can be concluded that a coarse
feed structure is more efficient in maintaining gastric
health of fattening pigs than elevated crude fiber contents.
Furthermore, the coarsely ground diet did not result in
reduced performance or carcass traits.
Key words: feed structure, gastric ulcer, particle size
2009 The effect of yeast cell walls on performance and
innate immunity of weaned piglets. R. Gerritsen* 1 , G.
Klaassen 2 , G. Schuttert 2 , S. Rouwers 2 , and H. K. Parmentier
3 , 1 Schothorst Feed Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands,
2 Sloten B.V., Deventer, The Netherlands, 3 Wageningen
University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
XII INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON
DIGESTIVE PHYSIOLOGY OF PIGS
95
Session III
Positive effects of yeast concentrate on immunity and
performance of weaned piglets have been reported.
However, the effects on innate immunity were never
examined. Natural antibodies (NAb) are part of innate
immunity and have been related to health and survival in
fish, poultry, rodents and man. Possibly, yeast cell walls
may also affect innate immunity of weaned piglets. Also
positive effects of Nuklospray, a spray dried blend of dairybased
feed ingredients and vegetable fats, were reported.
We studied the effect of Nuklospray ProHealth containing
specially processed yeast cell walls as protein source on
NAb levels and performance of weaned piglets. A total of 120
piglets weaned at 28 d of age were assigned 2 treatments
comprising: a control diet; and an experimental diet with the
test product. Piglets were housed in groups of 6 during the
first 4 weeks post-weaning. Blood samples of 20 healthy
non-medicated piglets per treatment were taken at d 0, 14
and 28 post-weaning and analyzed for NAb levels binding
keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) by an indirect ELISA
procedure. Also performance parameters were determined.
Overall, the experimental diet significantly improved feed
intake (574 g/d vs. 522 g/d; P < 0.01), average daily gain
(449 g/d vs. 412 g/d; P < 0.01) and final body weight (21.4
kg vs. 20.3 kg; P < 0.01) compared with the control diet.
No differences were found in feed conversion ratio or fecal
score. At d 0, no differences in NAb levels were found,
but on d 14 post-weaning, NAb levels of piglets fed the
experimental diet were significantly higher than of piglets
fed the control diet (2.05 vs. 1.70; P < 0.05). On d 28 postweaning
no differences were found. These results indicate
that levels of NAb as a parameter of innate immunity, and
post weaning performance of piglets fed the yeast-enriched
diet (Nuklospray ProHealth) were positively affected.
Key words: yeast cell walls, weaned piglet, natural
antibodies
2010 Dietary oxidative stress-induced yellow fat and
lipofuscin accumulation in the digestive tract of swine.
J. J. Dibner* 1 , C. D. Knight 1 , M. Vazquez-Anon 1 , T. Lu 2 ,
M. L. Kitchell 1 , and J. Zhao 1 , 1 Novus International, Inc, St.
Charles, MO, USA, 2 Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg,
VA, USA.
A syndrome characterized by a yellow pigmentation of
adipose tissue has been reported in many species, including
swine. Yellow fat (YF) emerged as a serious commercial
problem in China in 2008 at a time when Vitamin E (VitE)
prices tripled, reducing supplementation. Yellow fat is often
only detected at processing as it is rarely associated with
a performance decline although in this case, pigs affected
by YF were also observed to have dark stools, suggesting
intestinal bleeding. Microscopically, YF is characterized by
extensive adipose cell degeneration, with inflammation,
fibrosis and accumulation of lipofuscin. Lipofuscin is
generated during oxidative stress. It has been reported
that high dietary unsaturated fatty acids and deficiency
of VitE or other antioxidants (AOX) is responsible for YF.
The objective of this trial was to develop a model system
for YF in swine. Sixteen 11-kg nursery pigs (in 4 pens)
were fed a commercial nursery diet for the first 10 d postweaning.
On d 11 the challenge diet was started which had