Antioxidants and yeast may have a role to play in lowering stress for pigs

Lallemand Animal Nutrition released new findings on the use of probiotic yeast when pigs are stressed at a health conference in Ireland this week, and research looking at the benefits of antioxidants in swine production.

The International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) Congress​​ in Dublin heard about the importance of nutritional management during challenging periods for piglets related to weaning, vaccination and heat stress.

One piece of research, which the Canada company undertook in partnership with the University of Nottingham in the UK, reportedly showed insights into the modes of action of the live yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii​ CNCM I-1079.

Lallemand said the results indicated the probiotic may alleviate the consequences of weaning stress by promoting regulatory immune responses and maintaining gut barrier integrity.

The research involved a transcriptomic approach to better understand piglet response to weaning stress and the effects of the live yeast at the level of gene expression in the piglet gut.

“This powerful genetic approach confirmed that weaning is a period of intense stress for the piglets. ​

“The expression of over 1,000 intestinal genes was affected, in particular those involved in the inflammatory response, defense against pathogens and the degradation of host tissues. ​

“The probiotic yeast S. cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 was able to reduce the negative impact of weaning, suggesting a protective role on the gut barrier function and immunoregulation,” ​noted the researchers.

Oxidative stress ​

Another study, conducted in partnership with the French Pork and Pig Institute (IFIP), looked at oxidative stress in weaned piglets.

It evaluated the benefits of extra antioxidant supplementation with vitamin E, organic selenium and a superoxide dismutase (SOD)-rich melon pulp concentrate.

Lallemand said the findings showed heat stress and double vaccination, used as stress triggers, were associated with different specific biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and inflammatory status, with both sources of stress linked to reduced performance when parameters such as average daily gain (ADG) were judged.

“The antioxidant supplementation helped restore antioxidant status and zootechnical performance,”​ said the producer.