ISSUE FOCUS 24 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2023 About Aurélie Montagnon Aurélie Montagnon is Central Technical Manager at Orffa Additives BV. Aurélie graduated from ISARA, France in 2020, with an engineering master’s degree in Agriculture, environment and resources management, with specialty in breeding, nutrition, environment and health. concentration of citrulline in the plasma was observed in piglets receiving the nutritional emulsifier in their diet (P < 0.05). Citrulline is a marker of the metabolic activity and functional mass of enterocytes in the intestine. The observed higher level showed the effect of the nutritional emulsifier to support piglets’ metabolism. Next to plasma components, a significant increased maltase activity was measured (Figure 5). In the digestive tract, maltase is an enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of maltose into glucose. Moreover, the addition of the nutritional emulsifier improved significantly the villus height, villi/crypt ratio and intestinal absorption surface in the jejunum and the ileum (P < 0.05). The treatment of the sows did not have any influence on the measured parameters. Combined, these results show the potential of a nutritional emulsifier to improve digestibility, absorption and intestinal health. The metabolism and digestive system of the piglet are better adapted to their new diet. This could lead, in the long run, to improved growth performance and feed efficiency of the pigs. NUTRITIONAL EMULSIFIERS FOR A BETTER FEED EFFICIENCY Overall, it can be stated that nutritional emulsifiers have a great potential to improve health and performance in the swine industry. Benefits are related to the emulsification activity and thereby improving fat digestibility and energy efficiency. Nutritional emulsifiers offer a valid strategy to reformulate sow diets and to support piglets in the post-weaning stress period. Focusing on feed efficiency is of vital importance nowadays in order to maximize the output of animals while keeping control of feed costs. In this way, margin and return on investment can be optimized. This is why different tools to improve digestibility are taken into account. Next to feed additives, choosing optimal ingredients with optimal digestibility coefficients and optimizing feed processing methods can benefit the animal industry. Nutritional emulsifiers, in combination with other strategies, can support the better use of raw materials and minimize the impact on the environment. Figure 4. Percentage change to the control with the nutritional emulsifier treatment on the body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion rate in weaned piglets (P < 0.05). Figure 5. Intestinal maltase activity, when feeding the basal diet or the nutritional emulsifier to weaned piglets (P < 0.05).
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