ISSUE FOCUS 28 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2022 slower digestion rate also achieves lower blood glucose levels, a factor that is associated with improved piglet growth performance. The impact that rice flour can have on piglet development has been further analysed by BENEO in a trialvii where standard commercial piglet feed was compared with one containing 6% BENEO rice flour. The results showed that piglets fed a diet containing rice flour had an average daily weight gain that was 7% higher than those on the standard feed. This was further demonstrated in a follow up trialviii where rice flour was used as a 100% replacement of whey powder. It was shown that the average daily gain over the whole feeding period (day 21 till 67) was similar for the two diets, and that complete exchange of expensive dairy ingredients with rice flour is therefore feasible without impairing the piglets performances. Additionally, the inclusion of prebiotic chicory root fibre (which is the richest source of inulin in nature) specifically stimulates beneficial bacteria like lactobacilli and bifidobacteria so that they can outgrow the most common pathogens (coliforms and salmonellae) and greatly diminish the likelihood of these opportunistic pathogenic bacteria becoming a real problem. As well as encouraging a balanced gut microflora and good intestinal health, the chicory inulin and oligofructose have shown other beneficial effects like stimulation of the immune system, increase of calcium absorption, and regulation of bowel movements. In an era where antibiotics are banned from infeed use, choosing the right selection of high quality, functional ingredients is even more paramount to ensure a smooth weaning process and better animal performance. In this respect, rice and chicory prebiotic fibres inulin and oligofructose, are valuable ingredients for piglets’ feed formulation. Thanks to greater insights in the benefits of including such ingredients in piglets feed, formulators across the world are increasingly seeing the value of incorporating them into the diets to improve growth performances and support the health of young piglets. References iMain, R.G.; Dritz, S.S.; Tokach, M.D.; Goodband, R.D.; & Nelssen, J.L. Increasing weaning age improves performance in a multisite production system. J. Anim. Sci 2004, 82. 1499-507. DOI: 10.2527/2004.8251499x. iiAt a Hamlet Protein Feed Your Brain seminar in 2019, Professor Jana Seifert from University of Hohenheim - https://www.thepigsite.com/articles/clean-diets-help-buildimmunity-and-gut-health iiiShim, S.B.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Kim, I.H.; Kwon, O.S.; & Verdonk, J.M.A.J. Effects of feeding antibiotic-free creep feed supplemented with oligofructose, probiotics or synbiotics to suckling piglets increases the preweaning weight gain and composition of intestinal microbiota, Archives of Animal Nutrition 2005, 59:6, 419-427, DOI: 10.1080/17450390500353234. ivChe, T. M.; Perez, V. G.; Song, M.; Pettigrew, J. E . Effect of rice and other cereal grains on growth performance, pig removal, and antibiotic treatment of weaned pigs under commercial conditions. J. Anim. Sci. 2012, 90, 4916–4924. vMontagne, L; Cavaney, F.S; Hampson, D.J.; Lallès, J. P.; Pluske J.R.. Effect of diet composition on postweaning colibacillosis in piglets. J. Anim. Sci. 2004, 82, 2364-2374. Hampson, D.J.; Robertson, I.D.; La, T.; Oxberry, S.L.; Pethick, D.W. Influences of diet and vaccination on colonisation of pigs by the intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira (Serpulina) pilosicoli. Veterinary Microbiology 2000, 73, 75-84. Pluske, J.R.; Siba, P.M.; Pethick, D.W.; Durmic, Z.; Mullah, B.P.; Hampson, D.J. The incidence of swine dysentery in pigs can be reduced by feeding diets that limit the amount of fermentable substrate entering the large intestine. J. Nutr. 1996, 126(11), 2920-2933. viBENEO trial, Centralys (2006) viiBENEO trial, KULeuven (2011) viiiBENEO trial, KULeuven (2012) About Dr. Maygane Ronsmans Dr. Maygane Ronsmans holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a PhD in Veterinary Sciences. After working for a few years at an international biotech company, she joined BENEO Animal Nutrition Department in 2019 as Product Manager. In this role she is responsible for offering technical support regarding BENEO’s Products and CoProducts for customers and colleagues in animal nutrition markets worldwide. BENEO is active in Petfood, Aquafeed and Livestock Nutrition markets.
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