Leandro Batista Costa

Utilização de glicerol na dieta de suínos em crescimento e terminação

The purpose of this work was to evaluate three levels of use of glycerol (0, 3, 6 and 9%) a byproduct of biodiesel production, in the diets of growing and finishing swines on performance, on carcass traits and on meat quality. A total of sixty-four Topigs pigs with 33.27 ± 4.66 kg initial body weight were distributed in 32 pens accordingly to the initial weight in a complete random block design with eight replicates (blocks) per level of glycerol. In each of the three phases: growth 1 (33.27 to 65.00 kg), growth 2 (65.00 to 85.00 kg) and finishing (85.00 to 99.97 kg), the animals were fed isonutritional rations and water ad libitum. When the animals reached 99.97 ± 1.92 kg body weight, they were slaughtered and the following carcass traits were evaluated: hot carcass yield, carcass length, backfat thickness, loin eye area and fat/meat ratio. Samples of longissimus dorsi were taken for pH measurement, color and water drip loss. The addition of glycerol into the diet reduced only the daily weight gain during growth periods 1 and 2. Generally, glycerol can be used as energetic ingredient in diets for growing and finishing pigs up to 9% with no effect on performance, carcass quality and meat quality.

Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase: Potential Roles in Promoting Gut Health in Weanling Piglets and Its Modulation by Feed Additives — A Review

The intestinal environment plays a critical role in maintaining swine health. Many factors such as diet, microbiota, and host intestinal immune response influence the intestinal environment. Intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) is an important apical brush border enzyme that is influenced by these factors. IAP dephosphorylates bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), unmethylated cytosine-guanosine dinucleotides, and flagellin, reducing bacterial toxicity and consequently regulating toll-like receptors (TLRs) activation and inflammation. It also desphosphorylates extracellular nucleotides such as uridine diphosphate and adenosine triphosphate, consequently reducing inflammation, modulating, and preserving the homeostasis of the intestinal microbiota. The apical localization of IAP on the epithelial surface reveals its role on LPS (from luminal bacteria) detoxification. As the expression of IAP is reported to be downregulated in piglets at weaning, LPS from commensal and pathogenic gram-negative bacteria could increase inflammatory processes by TLR-4 activation, increasing diarrhea events during this phase. Although some studies had reported potential IAP roles to promote gut health, investigations about exogenous IAP effects or feed additives modulating IAP expression and activity yet are necessary. However, we discussed in this paper that the critical assessment reported can suggest that exogenous IAP or feed additives that could increase its expression could show beneficial effects to reduce diarrhea events during the post weaning phase. Therefore, the main goals of this review are to discuss IAP’s role in intestinal inflammatory processes and present feed additives used as growth promoters that may modulate IAP expression and activity to promote gut health in piglets.

Levedura hidrolisada como fonte de nucleotídeos para leitões recém-desmamados

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of levels of nucleotides in diets for weanling pigs on performance, organs morphometry and histology of intestinal epithelium. One hundred and forty-four pigs weaned at 21 days of age and with 5.80 ± 0.16 kg initial live weight were used in a completely randomized experimental design with six diets, six replications per diet and four animals per pen (experimental unit). Diets were: Am _ antimicrobial: basal diet with 40 ppm of colistin sulfate and basal diet with 0, 150, 300, 450 and 600 ppm of nucleotides. At the end of the experimental period, one animal of each pen was slaughtered to evaluate morphometry of the organs and intestinal epithelium histology. From day 1 to day 14 of the experimental period, performance traits worsened linearly and for the total experimental period of 34 days, a linear reduction of final live weight was observed when levels of dietary nucleotides were increased. Pigs fed diet with colistin showed greater length of small intestine and lower villus height:crypt depth ratio (AV:PC) of duodenum when compard to those fed nucleotides. Also, a linear increase of relative weight of spleen, as well as a linear increase of AV:PC and linear reduction of crypt depth of duodenum were observed with the addition of nucleotides in the diet. Therefore, although the addition up to 600 ppm of nucleotides in complex diets did not improve performance, it improves morphometry of the organs and intestinal epithelium histology of weanling pigs.

Leitões recém-desmamados alimentados com dietas contendo proteína láctea e zinco suplementar

Avaliaram-se os efeitos da utilizacao de proteina lactea ou zinco suplementar na dieta sobre o desempenho, os pesos relativos do intestino delgado e figado, a morfologia intestinal e as concentracoes sericas de IGF-I (fator de crescimento semelhante a insulina), hormonio do crescimento e zinco em leitoes. O experimento teve duracao de 14 dias e foi realizado com 60 leitoes desmamados aos 21 dias de idade (5,43 ± 0,46 kg), em delineamento de blocos casualizados, em fatorial 2 x 2, composto de dois niveis de proteina lactea (com e sem, 4%) e dois de zinco (com e sem, 2.250 ppm) na dieta. No periodo de 1 a 7 dias de experimento, o zinco proporcionou melhor conversao alimentar e, no periodo de 1 a 14 dias, promoveu maior pesos aos 14 dias e maior ganho de peso. O fornecimento de proteina lactea na dieta piorou a conversao alimentar nas duas fases (de 1 a 7 dias e de 1 a 14 dias de experimento) e resultou em menor profundidade de cripta no jejuno aos 7 dias e maior altura de vilosidade aos 14 dias de experimento. Aos 7 dias de experimento, Houve interacao proteina lactea e zinco para a relacao altura de vilosidades:profundidade de criptas do jejuno, a qual foi tambem maior nos animais recebendo proteina lactea. A adicao de zinco na dieta reduziu a concentracao de IGF-I e o peso relativo do figado aos 14 dias de experimento, enquanto o uso de proteina lactea aumentou a concentracao de IGF-I. A inclusao de proteina lactea melhorou a conversao alimentar, influenciou a morfologia intestinal e aumentou a concentracao de IGF-I, mas a suplementacao de zinco nao foi eficiente para alterar os niveis de hormonio do crescimento no organismo.

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

BACKGROUND Many strategies, such as the antibiotic growth promoters, have been developed to improve intestinal health and performance of newly weaned piglets. Natural products such as essential oils have been scientifically recognized as growth enhancer feed additives for weanling pigs, replacing the antibiotics. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that Brazilian red pepper could replace performance-enhancing antibiotics also in weanling pig diets. However, one experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary Brazilian red pepper essential oil or antimicrobial growth promoter on intestinal health and growth performance of weanling pigs. RESULTS No effects of treatments were observed on performance and organ weights (P > 0.05). Overall, both additives [red pepper essential oil (RPEO) or antibiotic (ANT)] increased gut Lactobacillus counts compared to negative control, as well as reduced villi density (P < 0.05). Animals fed diets containing 1.5 g kg-1 RPEO presented the lowest incidence of diarrhea (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Our findings suggested that essential oil from Brazilian red pepper or chlorohydroxyquinoline added in weanling pig diets affect gut microbiota and histology without affecting performance and organ weights. In addition, there was an indication that high doses of essential oil could reduce the incidence of diarrhea.

Effects of dietary hop (Humulus lupulus L.) β-acids on quality attributes, composition and oxidative stability of pork meat: Hop β-acids affect lipid content and oxiodation of pork meat

BACKGROUND The effects of dietary levels of hop β-acids on physical attributes, lipid oxidation and chemical composition of pork meat were evaluated. Thirty-two castrated male pigs obtained from a complete block design feeding experiment (6.23 ± 0.42 kg initial body weight (BW) to 20.45 ± 0.95 kg final BW) and fed diets supplemented with 0, 120, 240 or 360 mg kg-1 hop β-acids during 35 days were slaughtered to sample longissimus dorsi muscle for meat analysis. RESULTS No effects (P > 0.05) of dietary hop β-acids were observed on meat physical attributes. Quadratic effects (P < 0.05) of hop β-acids were observed on lipid and protein contents and on thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) values of meatballs, whose equations allowed the estimation of dietary hop β-acid levels of 176, 169 and 181 mg kg-1 to provide up to 16.20% lipid reduction, 1.95% protein accretion and 23.31% TBARS reduction respectively. CONCLUSION Dietary hop β-acids fed to pigs might reduce lipid, increase protein and reduce lipid oxidation without affecting physical attributes of the pork meat.

Composição e atividade antimicrobiana do óleo essencial da aroeira (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) com vistas ao uso como antimicrobiano para leitões desmamados

O uso de antibioticos como melhoradores de desempenho nas racoes animais foi banido da Uniao Europeiaem 2006, possivelmente devido ao desenvolvimento de resistencia dos microrganismos aos antibioticose a possibilidade de resistencia cruzada no homem. A pressao para a remocao desses antibioticos das racoesde suinos tem aumentado a busca por produtos alternativos que garantam maximo crescimento dosanimais. Dentre os produtos alternativos destacam-se os oleos essenciais, os quais adicionados a dieta deleitoes podem apresentar atividade antimicrobiana, antioxidante e anti-inflamatoria, mediante o efeito doscomponentes quimicos de cada oleo essencial. Diante disso, objetivou-se avaliar a composicao quimica dooleo essencial da aroeira vermelha (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi), alem de investigar seu efeito antimicrobianocontra Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureuse Enterococcus faecalis, visando a possivel utilizacao do oleo essencial testado como aditivo na dieta deleitoes recem-desmamados. Utilizou-se um cromatografo a gas com detector de massas para determinar acomposicao quimica do fruto da aroeira vermelha e o metodo de difusao em disco para investigar o efeitoantimicrobiano do oleo essencial. Os compostos encontrados em maiores concentracoes no fruto da aroeiravermelha foram o δ–careno (41,01%), α-felandreno (14,40%), limoneno (12,36%) e α-pineno (10,36%). Ooleo essencial nao demonstrou efeito antimicrobiano para as cepas testadas, possivelmente devido as baixasconcentracoes do α-pineno encontradas. Entretanto, estudos in vivo e ex vivo devem ser desenvolvidos para avaliar a possivel atuacao do oleo essencial sobre a modulacao do sistema imune e promocao da saudeintestinal em leitoes recem-desmamados.