ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE September 2024 55 to ensure a targeted release at later points in the digestive tract. In innovative phytogenic products for stabilising intestinal health, technological synergies are now also used in addition to the classic combination of different phytogenics or their active substance. The latter have proven positive effects on the gastrointestinal tract, e.g. antimicrobial, secretolytic or appetite stimulating. This combination of coated essential oils and ground herbs (semi-coated) ensures immediate availability as well as a slow release over the entire digestive tract. TRIAL SETUP In a practical trial farm in southern Denmark, the effects of such a semi-coated product (Miarom Intest C, MIAVIT GmbH, Essen (Oldb.)) were tested in weaned piglets. Three groups of 108 piglets each (Danbred x Duroc) were divided evenly into 12 pens (replicates), each of which received a different on-top supplementation of the product. There was a control group, which received no product, and two experimental groups receiving the semi-coated product (Table 1). The trial was carried out in a flat deck with freshly weaned piglets (~28 days; 6.33 ± 0.75 kg) over 42 days. They were weighed on days 0, 14, 28 and 42 and the respective feed intake per pen was recorded for the periods in between. The faeces were scored three times a week using five categories from 1 - liquid to 5 - solid. On day 12, faecal samples were also collected from 8 animals each from the control group and the Miarom Intest C-High (MIC-H) group and directly preserved for subsequent analyses. In the faeces, the microbiome was analysed using quantitative real-time PCR for seven specific bacterial taxa and short-chain fatty acids using gas chromatography by Alimetrics (Alimetrics Group LTD, Finland). TRIAL RESULTS The performance parameters (Table 2) and the faecal scores between the respective groups showed no significant differences. The faecal scores of all groups were in the normal range between 3.2-3.4. The MIC-L group had the numerically highest values in relation to the performance parameters. However, the performance level of the experimental farm was already very high, so there was little potential to improve performance using a feed additive. The total number of bacteria in the faecal samples did not differ between the groups, nor did the specific bacterial taxa. The majority of the microbes detected did not belong to the seven common bacterial taxa analysed. Numerically, the LacMIC-H Control MIC-L Starter diet I Starter diet II 0 0 100 100 200 100 Table 1. Dosage of the semi-coated phytogenic product Miarom Intest C per trial group in mg/kg feed MIC = Miarom Intest C, L = low, H = high Control MIC-L MIC-H p-Wert Body weight [kg] Daily weight gain [g] Feed intake [kg] FCR [kg/kg] 27,3 ± 3,7 497 ± 70 0,71 ± 0,08 1,43 ± 0,07 28,0 ± 2,7 515 ± 51 0,73 ± 0,07 1,42 ± 0,05 27,3 ± 3,4 499 ± 65 0,69 ± 0,08 1,40 ± 0,07 0,727 0,571 0,375 0,473 Table 2. Performance parameters over the entire study period presented as mean value with standard deviation MIC = Miarom Intest C, L = low, H = high.
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