Blood plasma replacement by yeast as a source of nucleotides in diet of weaned piglets

The piglets TGI is not yet completely developed after weaning for solid diet digestion and absorption, so different ingredients are used to minimize these problems, improve feed intake and body weight gain during nursery phase. Yeast has been used as an important source of nucleotides, proteins, amino acids, MOS and β-glucans. Based on this, the aim of this study was to evaluate the supplementation of yeast as a source of nucleotides in piglet’s diet during nursery phase.

1600 weaned piglets (±21 days of age) Agroceres PIC® were distributed in a randomized block design with 4 treatments and 10 replicates of 40 animals. The nursery phase was divided in 4: pre-initial 1 (22 to 28 d), pre-initial 2 (29 to 35 d), initial 1 (36 to 47 d), and initial 2 (48 to 63 d). The treatments consisted in different inclusions of plasma and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast as a source of nucleotides [YNU] (Hilyses® - from ICC Brazil Company): 1- Control – conventional diet provided at the farm, with normal levels of plasma (6, 3, 1.5, and 0% - in the respective nursery phases); 2- Diet with plasma reduction (3, 1.5, 0.75, 0) + YNU (6, 3, 1.5 and 0%); 3- Diet with plasma reduction (1.5, 0.75, 0.375 and 0%) + YNU (9, 4.5, 2.25 and 0%); 4- Diet without plasma + YNU (12, 6, 3 and 0%). The piglets begin receiving the experimental diets when they were transferred to nursery facilities after weaning until the end of this phase (±66 days). The feed intake (FI) and body weight were measured at the end of each phase. Based on this, FI (g/d), body weight gain (BWG, g/d) and feed conversion ratio (FCR, g/g) were calculated. The mortality were daily observed and noted. The diarrhea frequency was calculated based on the incidence, intensity and duration, where 0 = no diarrhea presence in any animal; and 100 = 7 days of diarrhea in all piglets. Data were analyzed using the GLM (SAS) and means compared by Tukey (P=0.05).

In pre-initial 1 phase the treatment with plasma (no replacement) resulted in better (P< 0.05) FI and BWG, when compared to other treatments. However, during phase pre-initial 2, treatments with the larger proportion of YNU (3 and 4) showed an increase (P< 0.05) in FI (26.3 and 13.7%, respectively); in phase initial 1, improved (P< 0.05) BWG (30.8%, for both treatments) and FCR (-17.4 and -17.3%, respectively). Considering the total period, the treatment 3 (with low inclusions of plasma, but with YNU) improved numerically (not statistically) FI (4.1%), BWG (8%), FCR (-2.3%), mortality (- 83.3%) and diarrhea index (-44.8%).

Plasma can be replaced partially or completely by yeast as a source of nucleotides (Hilyses®), from second week in nursery phase.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.