Live yeast in swine nutrition

Considering the beneficial effects on intestinal microbial balance, dietary administration of probiotics such are live yeasts are reported to relieve the stress of sows in gestation and lactation. Live yeasts are known for many beneficial health effects including antioxidant defense mechanisms, thereby ameliorating oxidative stress. Live yeasts are mostly active dry yeasts (typically Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Its effects depend on a combination of strain specificity and quantity of live yeast (CFU) surviving and performing in the right part of the gastro intestinal tract. In this sense, a live yeast that has been selected for high oxygen scavenging potential in addition to a product with a higher CFU concentration would be more beneficial as it would need less inclusion to achieve the target CFU number. The benefit of adding a live yeast is the ability to scavenge, or remove, oxygen. A high level of colony-forming units (CFU) per gram may be measured through redox potential (Eh), which is key to providing the best possibility for live yeast to change and optimize the gut environment through the removal of oxygen concentration. The more negative the Eh value, the greater the potential to scavenge oxygen. During ingestion of feed and water or under stress, oxygen concentration is higher due to increased oxygen ingestion and oxygen emission from the epithelial cells, respectively. Feeding live yeast maintains a lower Eh, even at times of feeding. Based on recent work in piglets, adding a live yeast was able to improve the redox potential.