Logo image
Gastrointestinal health and function in weaned pigs: a review of feeding strategies to control post-weaning diarrhoea without using in-feed antimicrobial compounds
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Gastrointestinal health and function in weaned pigs: a review of feeding strategies to control post-weaning diarrhoea without using in-feed antimicrobial compounds

J.M. Heo, F.O. Opapeju, J.R. Pluske, J.C. Kim, D.J. Hampson and C.M. Nyachoti
Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, Vol.97(2), pp.207-237
2013
url
Free to Read *No subscription requiredView

Abstract

Summary: For the last several decades, antimicrobial compounds have been used to promote piglet growth at weaning through the prevention of subclinical and clinical disease. There are, however, increasing concerns in relation to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and the potential of these and associated resistance genes to impact on human health. As a consequence, European Union (EU) banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in swine and livestock production on 1 January 2006. Furthermore, minerals such as zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) are not feasible alternatives/replacements to antibiotics because their excretion is a possible threat to the environment. Consequently, there is a need to develop feeding programs to serve as a means for controlling problems associated with the weaning transition without using antimicrobial compounds. This review, therefore, is focused on some of nutritional strategies that are known to improve structure and function of gastrointestinal tract and (or) promote post-weaning growth with special emphasis on probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, trace minerals and dietary protein source and level.

Details

Metrics

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.51 Dairy & Animal Sciences
3.51.208 Poultry Nutrition
Web Of Science research areas
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Veterinary Sciences
ESI research areas
Plant & Animal Science
Logo image