Interpretive Summary: Effects of dietary protein content and crystalline amino acid supplementation patterns on growth performance, intestinal histomorphology, and immune response in weaned pigs raised under different sanitary conditions

By: Jinyoung Lee, Jolie Caroline González-Vega, John Kyaw Htoo, Chengbo Yang, Charles Martin Nyachoti

Reducing dietary crude protein (CP) content reduces nitrogen excretion to the environment and undigested protein availability to enteric pathogens in the hind gut resulting in reduced postweaning diarrhea and improved gut health. To meet the amino acid requirements in low CP diets, supplementation of essential amino acids in nursery diets is necessary, and the availability of more feed-grade crystalline amino acids allows low CP diets to be practically formulated. The sanitation challenge model mimics commercial raising conditions and stimulates a low-grade inflammatory and immune response. Although low CP diets decreased the feed efficiency in pigs raised under unclean conditions in this study, improved gut histomorphology and ameliorated inflammatory response were obtained in pigs fed low CP diets. However, no effect was found in crystalline amino acids supplementation patterns. The outcomes of this study confirmed that low CP diets could be used to improve gut health and ameliorate immune response in weaned pigs.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.