Effects of dietary seaweed extract supplementation in sows and post-weaned pigs on performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microflora and immune status.

The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of a seaweed extract (SWE) to sows and weaned pigs on post-weaning growth performance, intestinal morphology, intestinal microflora, volatile fatty acid concentrations and immune status of pigs at days 11 and 117 post-weaning. Gestating sows (n 20) were supplemented with a SWE (0 v. 10·0 g/d) from day 107 of gestation until weaning (day 26). At weaning, pigs (four pigs per sow) were divided into two groups based on sow diet during lactation and supplemented with a SWE (0 v. 2·8 g/kg diet), resulting in four treatment groups: (1) BB (basal sows-basal pigs); (2) BS (basal sows-treated pigs); (3) SB (treated sows-basal pigs); (4) SS (treated sows-treated pigs). Pigs weaned from SWE-supplemented sows had a higher average daily gain (ADG) between days 0 and 21 (P < 0·05) post-weaning compared with pigs weaned from non-SWE-supplemented sows. Pigs offered post-weaning diets (PW) containing SWE had decreased colonic Escherichia coli populations on day 11 (P < 0·01) and decreased colonic Enterobacteriaceae numbers on day 117 (P < 0·05). Pigs offered PW containing SWE had a greater mRNA abundance of MUC2 in the colon at day 11 post-weaning (P < 0·05) compared with pigs offered unsupplemented diets. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that SWE supplementation post-weaning provides a dietary means to improve gut health and to enhance growth performance in starter pigs. Dietary SWE supplementation increased ADG during the grower-finisher (GF) phases. However, there was no growth response to SWE inclusion in GF diets when pigs were weaned from SWE-supplemented sows.

Effect of dietary seaweed extracts and fish oil supplementation in sows on performance, intestinal microflora, intestinal morphology, volatile fatty acid concentrations and immune status of weaned pigs.

A 2x2 factorial experiment (ten sows per treatment) was conducted to investigate the effect of maternal dietary supplementation with a seaweed extract (SWE; 0 v. 10·0 g/d) and fish oil (FO; 0 v. 100 g/d) inclusion from day 109 of gestation until weaning (day 26) on pig performance post-weaning (PW) and intestinal morphology, selected microflora and immune status of pigs 9 d PW. The SWE contained laminarin (10 %), fucoidan (8 %) and ash (82 %) and the FO contained 40 % EPA and 25 % DHA. Pigs weaned from SWE-supplemented sows had higher daily gain (P=0·063) between days 0 and 21 PW and pigs weaned from FO-supplemented sows had higher daily gain (P<0·05) and gain to feed ratio (P<0·01) between days 7 and 14 PW. There was an interaction between maternal SWE and FO supplementation on caecal Escherichia coli numbers (P<0·05) and the villous height to crypt depth ratio in the ileum (P<0·01) and jejunum (P<0·05) in pigs 9 d PW. Pigs weaned from SWE-supplemented sows had lower caecal E. coli and a higher villous height to crypt depth ratio in the ileum and jejunum compared with non-SWE-supplemented sows (P<0·05). There was no effect of SWE on E. coli numbers and villous height to crypt depth ratio with FO inclusion. Maternal FO supplementation induced an increase in colonic mRNA abundance of IL-1α and IL-6 (P<0·05), while SWE supplementation induced an increase in ileal TNF-α (P<0·01) and colonic TFF3 mRNA expression (P<0·05). In conclusion, these results demonstrate that SWE and FO supplementation to the maternal diet influenced the gastrointestinal environment and performance of the weaned pig.

Effect of maternal fish oil and seaweed extract supplementation on colostrum and milk composition, humoral immune response, and performance of suckled piglets.

An experiment with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments (n = 10 sows/treatment) was conducted to investigate the effect of maternal dietary supplementation with seaweed extract (SWE: 0 vs. 10.0 g/d) and fish oil (FO) inclusion (0 vs. 100 g/d) from d 109 of gestation until weaning (d 26) on sow colostrum and milk composition, humoral immune response on d 5 and 12 of lactation, and suckling piglet performance. Furthermore, the influence of dietary treatment on the phagocytic activity of whole blood white cells at weaning was examined. The SWE (10 g) contained laminarin (1 g), fucoidan (0.8 g), and ash (8.2 g) and was extracted from a Laminaria spp. The FO contained approximately 40% eicosapentaenoic acid and 25% docosahexaenoic acid. The SWE-supplemented sows had greater colostrum IgG (P < 0.01) and milk protein (P < 0.05) concentrations on d 12 of lactation compared with non-SWE-supplemented sows. Piglets suckling SWE-supplemented sows had greater serum IgG (P < 0.01) and IgA (P < 0.05) concentrations on d 5 and IgG concentrations on d 12 (P < 0.05) of lactation compared with those suckling non SWE-supplemented sows. In contrast, FO supplementation exerted a suppressive effect on piglet serum IgA concentrations on d 5 of lactation (P < 0.05) compared with non-FO-supplemented diets. Dietary FO supplementation enhanced the n-3 PUFA proportion of sow milk (P < 0.001) and piglet serum at weaning (P < 0.001). Piglets suckling SWE-supplemented sows had a greater percentage of Escherichia coli phagocytizing leukocytes (P < 0.05) and a reduced percentage of E. coli phagocytizing lymphocytes (P < 0.01) compared with non-SWE-supplemented sows. Piglets suckling FO-supplemented sows had a greater percentage of leukocytes (P < 0.05) and lymphocytes (P < 0.05) phagocytizing E. coli compared with non-FO-supplemented sows. However, total leukocyte, lymphocyte, monocyte, and neutrophil numbers were not influenced by sow dietary treatment. Average piglet weaning weight and ADG between birth and weaning were not influenced by sow dietary treatment. In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that SWE supplementation from d 109 of gestation until weaning enhanced colostral IgG concentrations and circulatory IgG concentrations in suckled piglets on d 5 and 12 of lactation. Furthermore, the percentage of leukocytes and lymphocytes phagocytizing E. coli at weaning increased in piglets suckling FO-supplemented sows, indicating an enhancement of immune function against presenting pathogens. However, the combination of SWE and FO bestowed no positive effect on immune responses investigated in the current study.