Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 3 April 2021

ISSUE FOCUS 46 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2021 These results support the hypotheses that in in field conditions the supplementation of 2.5 g/Kg of an embedded benzoic acid can replace pharmaco- logical doses of zinc oxide, maintaining the growth performance of piglets and shifting the faecal micro- biota profile. Indeed, it has been reported that Ruminococcus, Prevotella and Fibrobacter can improve the fermen- tation of dietary polysaccharides and the production of SCFAs, which are known to exert beneficial func- tion for the host. The SCFAs exert several physio- logical functions, as precursors for energy, reducing intestinal inflammation and the gut permeability and the consequent risk of bacterial translocation. In addition, the positive effect on the gut mucosa integrity favours the absorptive capacity of intes- tine, with positive effects on feed efficiency. On the other hand, ZnO supplemented pigs had a higher abundance of Bacteroidaceae. This bacterial group characterizes the pre-weaning phase in pig- lets: this again supports the hypothesis that the PBA group could have a healthier and more mature mi- crobiota structure compared with the ZnO group. OUR FINAL MESSAGE In conclusion, the supplementation of piglets’ di- ets with a blend of protected aromatic compounds including benzoic acid positively shifted the mi- crobial profile of weaned piglets compared to a pharmacological dose of ZnO by increasing micro- biota diversity. In addition, PBA supplementation increased the proliferation of bacteria involved in fiber utilization and feed efficiency. This finding in parallel with the observed improvement of growth performance and the reduction of diarrhoea inci- dence suggests the possibility to replace ZnO with the tested blend of protected aromatic compounds in nursery pigs. Figure 2. Alpha Diversity boxplot per dietary treatment. About Marisol Castillo Marisol has a degree on Veterinary Science 2001 and a PhD on Animal Nutrition (2006). After her PhD, she started to work as a nutritionist and since then has been involved in different areas of the Industry, as a product manager and R&D manager, always focused on improving animal health on monogastric animals. Since 2016 she works in Novus as Senior Technical Services Manager for Swine in North Europe.