14/11/2014
Copper supply affects growth performance
and health in growing pigs
Outline
 Introduction
Themamiddag 4 november 2014
● Copper as essential trace element
Paul Bikker, Jurgen van Baal, Roselinde Goselink
● Presence: recommendations, allowance and practice
● Environmental consequences
 New studies into copper responses in pigs
● Requirements
● Growth promoting effect
 Conclusions and practical implications
Copper as essential trace elements
Copper as essential trace elements
 Many physiological functions
● Component of metalloenzymes
● Red blood cells, heamoglobin, iron metabolism
● Oxidants and anti-oxidants
 Consequences of Cu-deprivation
 Many physiological functions
● Component of metalloenzymes
● Red blood cells, heamoglobin, iron metabolism
● Oxidative enzymes (anti-oxidants)
 Consequences of Cu-deprivation
● Anaemia
● Loss of pigment
● Bone development, disturbed ossification
● Connective tissue (e.g. aorta rupture)
● Ataxia (central nervous system)(lambs)
● Loss of appetite  reduced growth rate (Zn)
● Skin abnormalities (parakeratosis, thickening,
lesions) (Zn)
● Bone development, growth, reproduction (Cu, Zn)
● Cu-deprivation only after experimental induction
 However: Cu-deprivation very unlikely in pigs
Copper recommendations in mg/kg
Copper inclusion levels in practical diets
Source
GfE, 2008
Piglets
6.0
GF pigs
4.0-5.0
Sows
10
NRC, 2012
EU max.
6.0/5.0
170
4.0/3.0
25
10/20
25
 Copper (PDV survey 2007; Adamse et al., 2011)
● ~160 mg/kg for pigs <12 weeks
● ~20-25 mg/kg GF pigs and sows
 Inclusion is largely based on maximum allowance
Contribution of ingredients: 5-8 mg Cu per kg
Few (recent) dose – response studies (baby pigs)
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14/11/2014
Copper balance growing pigs
Copper in the environment
Copper balance of agricultural area in NL (x 1000 kg)
BW, kg
Cu,
mg/kg
Cu, g
Nursery
8-25
165
4.2
1980
2000
2005
2009
GF-pigs
25-120
25
6.2
Total supply
1360
780
490
465
Retention
8-120
1.2
0.13
Animal manure1)
1050
750
415
405
140
100
100
100
1220
680
390
365
Excretion
10.2
Excretion, %
98.7
Crops
Accumulation
1)
Not included
Grower diet
2 wk
165
+2.4
Grower diet
4 wk
165
+5.9
From 2001 new calculation method
Background
Copper allowance, max. EU levels
Copper
EC
1987
2003
PDV
2000
2003
EC
2004
Pigs < 12 wk
175
+160
170
Pigs 12-16 wk
175
+130
25
Pigs >16 wk
35
+ 15
25
Breeding pigs
35
+ 20
25
Copper in surface
water in NL
(Römkens et al., 2012)
A
L
W
EC as total content, PDV as added via premix (Dutch agreement)
From ingredients: 5-8 mg Cu per kg
Intermediate conclusions
 Requirements poorly documented and not applied
 Dietary copper levels close to EC maximum
 >90% excretion in manure  renewed interest
Aims
 Reduction in excretion without loss of animal
performance and health
Feed4Foodure, MMM4, copper and zinc
 Reduction of Cu and Zn losses from farm animals by
developing insight in their absorption from the GIT and
utilisation in the body.
 Short term
● dietary recommendations
 Long term
● understanding of absorption processes
● mechanisms of growth and health promoting effects
● Inclusion in nutrient based response models
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Dose – response studies in growing pigs
Experiment copper, treatments
Treatment
Added Cu
mg/kg
1
2
 Cu requirements in young growing pigs (8-40 kg)
● Large scale, 10 x 8 pigs / treatment
● Tempo x Topigs 20 (LR x GY)
● Practical diet composition
● Effect of phytase
● Effect of growth promoting level of copper
 Assumption: requirements decrease with body weight 

extrapolation of results to GF pigs.

Results, growth
performance
Total Cu
mg/kg
Phytase
FTU/kg
0
7
-
3
10
-
3
6
13
-
4
9
16
-
5
12
19
-
6
18
25
-
7
160
165
-
8
0
7
500
Zn, added 45 mg/kg, analysed 70-75
Phytase, analysed, 165 (intrinsic) and 760 FTU/kg
Results copper in serum
Day 28
Day 56
phytase
serum copper, µmol/L
40
35
30
25
20
15
5
Results copper in liver and bile
phytase
Bile
phytase
60
10
50
8
40
6
30
4
20
2
10
0
0
5
25
Effect of phytase on nutrient digestibility (%)
10
15
20
Copper content, mg/kg diet
Copper content, mg/L
Copper content, mg/kg DM
Liver
10
15
20
Copper content, mg/kg diet
T1
-
T8
+500 FTU
SEM
P-value
DM
83.4
84.3
0.20
0.003
Ca
42.0
47.6
1.81
0.044
P
47.4
51.7
1.64
0.084
Cu
22.1
6.7
2.38
<0.001
Zn
-0.6
10.1
1.05
<0.001
25
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Phytate and trace elements
Effect of high copper on growth performance
T 1-6
7-25 mg
T7
165 mg
38.4
41.1
0.55
SD BW D56, kg
3.7
3.9
0.35
0.612
ADG, g/d
540
587
9.7
<0.001
FI, kg/d
0.88
0.94
0.015
<0.001
FCR
1.63
1.60
0.013
0.032
BW D56, kg
Effect of high copper, T 7 as % of T1-6
T 1-6
120
ADG
FI
FCR
90
piglets, %
130
100
P-value
<0.001
Effect of high copper (T7) on faecal consistency
140
110
SEM
T7
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
soft liquid soft liquid soft liquid soft liquid soft liquid
80
wk 1-2
wk 3-4
wk 5-6
week 1
wk 7-8
week 2
week 3
week 4
week 1-4
Level and duration of Cu supplementation
Experimental observations
Added Cu, mg/kg
 D0, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70: body weight, feed intake
 Daily: health, medical treatments, losses
 2x / wk: faecal consistency
 15, (80), 160 mg Cu/kg:
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
Week 1-2
15
80
120
160
160
160
160
160
Week 3-4
15
80
120
160
160
160
15
15
Week 5-6
15
80
120
160
160
15
15
15
Week 7-8
15
80
120
160
15
15
15
160
Week 9-10
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
 Zn, added 45 mg/kg
 Phytase added 500 FTU/kg
● D0, 56: blood samples  Cu
● D0, 56: body tissues  liver Cu, Zn, bile Cu
● Mucosal scrapings, transporters
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Effect of level of Cu supplementation
Effect of duration of Cu supplementation
After wk 6 from nursery to GF unit
Effect of duration of Cu supplementation
Effect of diet copper on tissue levels, D56
T1
15 mg
T2
80 mg
23.8a
24.4a
T4
160 mg SEM
P
27.5b
0.80
 Effect microbiota population in GIT (Fuller et al., 1960)
 Increase in feed intake (less effect in restricted pigs)
0.021
 Endocrine system, increase in GH in pituitary or
 Similar effect after continuous Cu-histidine injection
 Moderate increase in plasma and liver Cu-levels (several
Liver, mg/kg
Cu
23.0a
20.4a
32.1b
2.6
0.023
Zn
253
240
264
22.0
0.722
1.36a
1.60a
2.40b
0.23
0.026
Bile, mg/L
Mode of actions high Cu supplement
mediated by hypothalamus NPY (Li et al., 2008)
Plasma
Cu, µmol/L
Level and duration of Cu supplement on faeces
hypothalamus (Zhou et al., 1994; Yan et al., 2011)
authors); far higher in injected pigs
 Interactions with Zn and phytase on liver Cu, not on
growth performance
 ... several mechanisms, no final answers
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Influence on methallothionein and Cu and
Zn-transporters in GI-tract
Conclusions
 Minor effects of Cu content (<25 mg kg) in the diet;
physiological requirements are met with 7-10 mg/kg
 Phytase may reduce Cu absorption, mediated by Zn
 Cu (160 mg/kg) promotes performance and health
 Will be addressed by Jurgen van Baal
● Linear effect from 15-160 mg/kg on ADG (via FI)
● Sign. effect of 160 vs 15 mg/kg in each 2 wk-period
● Transient dip in ADG after removal of high Cu
● No effect in finisher period (>50 kg BW)
● High Cu persistently improved faecal consistency
 Cost of Cu-reduction on BW gain can be estimated
 More insight in mechanisms may alleviate effects
Thank you for your kind attention
[email protected]
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