Effects of a phytogenic feed additive on the growth performance of weaned piglets from 25 to 69 days of age

Abstract

Since the ban on antibiotic growth promoters in the EU, the industry is looking for alternatives such as phytogenic feed additives (PFA) to further improve the technical performances of weaned piglets. PFAs consist of herbs, plants and plant-derived products such as essential oils, but it is not a very well-defined term. It has been claimed that certain PFAs have promising results on gastrointestinal health, due to their antimicrobial and antioxidative properties. Piglets experience many events in their life in which their immune system is challenged or compromised, a system that costs tremendous amounts of energy. A product that supports gastrointestinal health is therefore promising, as this can have a favourable effect on the piglets’ growth performance. Many in-vitro studies support this claim. However, in-vivo studies show varying results. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of a specific commercial PFA on the gastrointestinal health and growth performance of weaned piglets. In a 42-day study, 25-day-old weaned piglets (n=240; 7.30 ± 0.99 kg BW) were assigned within sex and body weight (BW) blocks to 1 of 2 treatments, using 12 pens (20 pigs per pen; 6 replications per treatment). Dietary treatments included a positive control (basal diet) and a treatment group (basal diet + PFA 150 g/tonne) supplemented with a commercial PFA, containing an encapsulated blend of herbs and essential oils including thymol, oregano and licorice. Due to logistical errors that were made during the trial, by which both the trial and control group received the same feed without PFA, the growth performance was found to be identical between the two treatment groups. Consequently, solid conclusions on the efficacy of PFA to promote the growth performance in weaned piglets cannot be drawn.