Interpretive Summary: Effect of amino acid blend as alternative to antibiotics for growing pigs

By: Maykelly da S. Gomes, Alysson Saraiva, Dante T. Valente Júnior, Leandro L. de Oliveira, Amanda M. Correia, Nicola V. L. Serão, Gabriel C. Rocha

Dietary antibiotics have been used in pig farming practices to avoid health problems, improving animal growth performance. However, antimicrobial resistance due to the use of antibiotics in farms is considered to be a global health challenge. Arginine and glutamine are amino acids with potential to improve gut health, immune function, and growth performance. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the supplementation of those amino acids as an alternative to the use of dietary antibiotic for pigs. Moreover, after a 14-d treatment phase, we still monitor the pigs to evaluate the carryover effects of the antibiotics and amino acids. Amino acid supplementation at the selected doses in this study did not positively affect pigs. Although during the treatment phase, antibiotics improved performance, when considering the overall study period, pigs did not benefit from a diet containing antibiotics. Thus, antibiotics caused transient alterations in pig performance and should be further investigated, potentially guiding future research on its use and alternative technologies.

This article can be found in the Journal of Animal Science.