Effect of fish oil in Iberian sow diets on fatty acid, oxylipins and immune traits of colostrum and milk, and suckling piglets' growth performance.

Iberian sow productivity is characterised by a low number of weaned piglets with higher within-litter variation in piglet birth BW compared with conventional breeds. To overcome this, nutritional strategies, such as the dietary addition of n-3 fatty acids (FAs), are being studied to improve sow performance, as well as colostrum and milk composition. In addition, n-3 FAs and their derived oxylipins could also be beneficial for the offspring due to their anti-inflammatory roles.

Long-Term Effects of Early Low-Phosphorous Nutritional Conditioning on Broiler Chicken Performance, Bone Mineralization, and Gut Health Under Adequate or Phosphorous-Deficient Diets.

Phosphorous is essential for many metabolic functions and the constitution of bones. Poultry have limited ability to use phosphorous from diets, which is mainly excreted and causes environmental concern. For this reason, diets are commonly supplemented with inorganic phosphorus and phytases.

Positive impact of early-probiotic administration on performance parameters, intestinal health and microbiota populations in broiler chickens.

Minimizing the utilization of antibiotics in animal production is crucial to prevent the emergence of antimicrobial resistances. Thus, research on alternatives is needed to maintain productivity, sustainability, and animal health. To gain a comprehensive understanding of probiotics' modes of action on performance, intestinal microbiota, and gut health in poultry, 3 probiotic strains (Enterococcus faecalis CV1028 [EntF], Bacteroides fragilis GP1764 [BacF], and Ligilactobacillus salivarius CTC2197 [LacS]) were tested in 2 in vivo trials.

Impact of adding eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid-rich fish oil in sow and piglet diets on blood oxylipins and immune indicators of weaned piglets.

Weaning is a decisive event in piglets' life. This study aimed to evaluate whether the inclusion of fish oil, rich in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA and DHA), in sow and piglet diets, increased the concentration of anti-inflammatory molecules in the blood of weaned piglets and whether the effect was dependent on the pigs being born with either low or a high birth BW (bBW). Thirty-six sows in four consecutive batches were randomly distributed between a control diet with animal fat (15 g/kg in gestation and 30 g/kg in lactation) or a n-3 long-chain fatty acid diet (LCFA; totally or half replacing animal fat by fish oil during gestation and lactation, respectively) from service until weaning (ca.

Influence of dietary n-3 long-chain fatty acids on microbial diversity and composition of sows' feces, colostrum, milk, and suckling piglets' feces.

Introduction: Very little is known about the impact of n-3 long-chain fatty acids (n-3 LCFAs) on the microbiota of sows and their piglets. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of n-3 LCFA in sow diets on the microbiota composition of sows' feces, colostrum, and milk as well as that of piglets' feces.

Methods: Twenty-two sows were randomly assigned to either a control or an n-3 LCFA diet from service to weaning.

Eicosapentaenoic acid- and docosahexaenoic acid-rich fish oil in sow and piglet diets modifies blood oxylipins and immune indicators in both, sows and suckling piglets.

Over the last decades, genetic selection has increased sows' litter size. Consequently, there is a high proportion of piglets born with low weight which are vulnerable. Their viability may potentially be enhanced through early nutrition.

Novel strategies to improve chicken performance and welfare by unveiling host-microbiota interactions through hologenomics.

Fast optimisation of farming practices is essential to meet environmental sustainability challenges. Hologenomics, the joint study of the genomic features of animals and the microbial communities associated with them, opens new avenues to obtain in-depth knowledge on how host-microbiota interactions affect animal performance and welfare, and in doing so, improve the quality and sustainability of animal production. Here, we introduce the animal trials conducted with broiler chickens in the H2020 project HoloFood, and our strategy to implement hologenomic analyses in light of the initial results, which despite yielding negligible effects of tested feed additives, provide relevant information to understand how host genomic features, microbiota development dynamics and host-microbiota interactions shape animal welfare and performance.

Fish oil rich in eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in sow diets modifies oxylipins and immune indicators in colostrum and milk.

Colostrum and milk are the first nutrient sources for newborn piglets. In addition, n-3 fatty acids (FAs) and their oxygenated derivatives (oxylipins) have the capacity to modulate immune components. The aim of the current study was to include a fish oil rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in sow diets to promote an increase of anti-inflammatory molecules in colostrum and milk to benefit piglets.

Effects of Exogenous 6-Phytase (EC 3.1.3.26) Supplementation on Performance, Calcium and Phosphorous Digestibility, and Bone Mineralisation and Density in Weaned Piglets.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential mineral for growing piglets, which is poorly accessible in vegetable feedstuffs as it is stored as phytates. Thus, phytase supplementation is essential to increase P availability. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate a novel 6-phytase (EC 3.

The Control of Intestinal Inflammation: A Major Objective in the Research of Probiotic Strains as Alternatives to Antibiotic Growth Promoters in Poultry.

The reduction of antimicrobial resistance is a major challenge for the scientific community. In a few decades, infections by resistant bacteria are forecasted to be the main cause of death in the world. The withdrawal of antibiotics as growth promoters and their preventive use in animal production is essential to avoid these resistances, but this may impair productivity and health due to the increase in gut inflammation.

Study of positive and negative feedback sensitivity in psychosis using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

Background: Schizophrenia involves marked motivational and learning deficits that may reflect abnormalities in reward processing. The purpose of this study was to examine positive and negative feedback sensitivity in schizophrenia using computational modeling derived from the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). We also aimed to explore feedback sensitivity in a sample with bipolar disorder.

Effect of reducing dietary protein and lysine on growth performance, carcass characteristics, intramuscular fat, and fatty acid profile of finishing barrows.

Intramuscular fat is an important quality trait in pork. Lysine and protein have been reported to influence this trait, but most studies have modified both factors simultaneously. In this study, the effects of dietary Lys and protein were investigated in finishing pigs to determine if either of the 2 factors alone or in combination influence the deposition of intramuscular fat.

Redox potential of cecum content of growing pigs and its relation with pH and VFA concentration.

Digestive microflora is partly responsible for physiological gut conditions. Measurements of redox potential (Eh) and pH of digesta may give a basis for understanding microbial activity and dynamics of fermentation. However, few studies have assessed the Eh of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs.

Dietary conjugated linoleic acid modify gene expression in liver, muscles, and fat tissues of finishing pigs.

The aim of this study was to investigate underlying mechanisms of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on lipid metabolism in various tissues of pigs. Sixteen gilts (73 ± 3 kg) were fed a control (containing sunflower oil) or an experimental diet in which 4% of sunflower oil was replaced by CLA, and slaughtered at an average BW of 117 ± 4.9 kg.

Effect of a high dose of CLA in finishing pig diets on fat deposition and fatty acid composition in intramuscular fat and other fat depots.

Sixteen gilts were fed a control (4% of sunflower oil) or an experimental diet (4% conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) oil). CLA had no effect on intramuscular fat (IMF) content neither in longissimus thoracis (LT) nor in semimembranosus (SM) muscles but increased liver weight, reduced perirenal fat and tended to reduce backfat between the last 3th-4th lumbar vertebrae. Despite the fact that 9c,11t and 10t,12c CLA isomers were included in the same proportion in the diet, the 9c,11t and 9c,11c were the isomers more deposited in all tissues.

Do all the consumers accept marbling in the same way? The relationship between eating and visual acceptability of pork with different intramuscular fat content.

Several reports show that intramuscular fat (IMF) and/or marbling affect the sensory acceptability of meat. The aim of the present work was to (1) investigate using Spanish consumers the eating and visual acceptability of pork with different levels of IMF, (2) understand more about this acceptability by studying segments of consumers and (3) determine which fresh pork characteristics are important at the point of purchase. Loin section (n = 40) were sorted into four IMF groups: 0.