Effects of potassium diformate - KDF on the performance of weaning piglets

With costs of pig production under increasing pressure, the nutrition of young pigs is of increasing interest, as this period is critical to the subsequent performance of the animals through to market. Optimising growth rate and feed efficiency at this time are therefore key requirements for success in today's animal production systems. While antibiotics are available to assist in improving growth during this phase, there are a range of concerns from world-wide pig producers about their use, including bacterial resistance, palatability and the accuracy of antibiotic dosage if feed intake is compromised. Furthermore, animal production is viewed critically for its use of in-feed antibiotics, both from consumers and regulatory authorities. As a result, various feed additives have been studied as alternatives. Organic acids, particularly salts of organic acids, have been reported by many experts to enhance growth performance in the absence of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in pigs, as well as poultry and aquaculture.

A report detailing that a "ban on antibiotic growth promoters creates significant opportunity for feed acidification" was published by Frost & Sullivan (2004). This report predicts that the overall European market for animal feed acidifiers will have grown from approximately €191 million in 2002 to more than €400 million by 2009. This growth would more than double the market segment in seven years. Furthermore, the Frost & Sullivan report attributes this rise to the industry's move away from antibiotic growth promoters and to acids as an alternative means of performance enhancement with similarly high economic benefits.

The potential application of organic acids to livestock nutrition and forage preservation has been known for decades and is documented by many scientific studies. Acids make a fundamental contribution to feed hygiene, since they suppress the growth of mould and thus restrict the potential production and detrimental effects of mycotoxins. Consequently the feed's safety is guaranteed by adding organic acids. A strong bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect has also been demonstrated for formic acid, the shortest-chain organic acid. These effects are based on reduction of the pH in both the feed and in the gut and also by the antimicrobial effect of the acid. The antimicrobial effect of organic acids varies widely and is based chiefly on the acid's degree of dissociation, as indicated by its pK-value, which states the pH at which the acid is 50 per cent dissociated and can be used to determine the action of an acid at a given pH. This is based chiefly on the capacity of organic acids in their un-dissociated state to cross the cell walls of gram-negative bacteria such as E.coli and Salmonella and penetrate into the cell.

Inside the bacterial cell, acids dissociate into a hydrogen cation and an acid anion. The cation also reduces the pH-value in the interior of the cell. Restoring intercellular pH is expensive in terms of energy, while the anion disrupts DNA synthesis in the nucleus. This dual impact mechanism effectively obstructs bacterial replication.

Formic acid is often described as being the strongest organic acid against pathogen gram negative bacteria; however certain disadvantages, like its unfavourable pungent smell and corrosiveness limit its use in feed production.

The potassium salt of formic acid, potassium diformate (KDF), on the other hand, also has a strong anti-microbial effect, but additionally is proven safe for humans and has no adverse smell. It is registered as Formi^®, the first non-antibiotic performance enhancer for pigs and patented by the ADDCON Group.

In order to fulfil the EU-registration requirements, KDF passed standards in several trials with weaners, fatteners and sows. Recently, a trial was carried out at a German Pig Production site. The aim of the trial was to test the natural growth promoter Formi^® against a commercial piglet diet containing no natural growth promoter. Feed and water were available ad libitum. 420 weaned piglets (28 days of age) were randomly selected and divided into 2 treatment groups. Piglets (Landrace x Duroc x PIC) were housed with 15 pigs per pen over a 49-day trial period. Performance data were measured during diet shifts and at the end of the trial. The Control group received no acidifier or natural growth promoter, while the treatment group had 12 kg of Formi^® per t of feed added to the diet.

During the trial all data have been recorded. In the following table the data are shown (Tab.1):

 

Table 1: Effect of Formi^® on performance parameters of weaned piglets

^{a, b}: Means with a different superscript differ significantly at P<0.05

 

As it can be seen from the table, overall performance in the group with Formi^® was significantly increased (P<0.05). The addition of 12 kg/t Formi^® resulted in an improvement of 14.6% in weight gain and an increase of 3.8% in feed intake, while the feed conversion rate was improved by 9.4%.

Based on an average feed price for commercial weaner pig diets (phase 1 and 2) in Germany (44.57 € / 100 kg) and a pig price of 40 € per 25 kg pig (each 1 kg more was counted with 1.61 €) it was proven that Formi^® lead to an economic pig production with improved profits (ROI = 4.5).

It can therefore be concluded that the use of KDF (Formi^®) can improve performance of the young pig, especially during the crucial time post-weaning, thus contributing to overall profitability in pig production.