TECH REPORT | Swine Volume S2 | Issue 2 | Apr. 1, 2016 The Effect of Nucleotides in a Piglet’s Diet Author: Melina Bonato, Ph.D. (R&D Coordinator, ICC Brazil) São Paulo, SP, Brazil Key Points: • Nucleotides play an important role in several metabolic processes. • Ingredients with high digestibility and palatability stimulate feed intake in weaned piglets. • Studies illustrate that Hilyses® benefits piglets’ intestinal epithelium: increasing daily feed intake and body weight gain, while also improving feed conversion ratio. Nucleotides, although not considered essential nutrients, play an important role in several metabolic processes, particularly in some body tissues and stages of animal development. Free nucleotides and nucleosides can be readily absorbed by the intestinal enterocytes. They are especially important in tissues that experience rapid cell proliferation and a limited capacity for synthesis through via de novo (major route of nucleotides’ production). Examples of such tissues are: intestinal epithelial cells, blood cells, liver cells and cells of the immune system. Therefore, they are used by the salvage pathway, where the body can synthesize nucleotides with less energy consumption, through the recycling of bases and nucleotides from the degradation of nucleic acids from dead cells or from the diet. However, when these endogenous salvage pathways are insufficient, exogenous nucleotides sources become semi- essential or “conditionally essential” nutrients (Carver and Walker, 1995). This especially occurs in animals during rapid growth and reproductive phases, as well as during stress and dramatic physiological challenges. Based on this premise, research has given us a greater understanding as to the importance of exogenous supplementation of nucleotides during high demand phases. The early nursery period is an example of a high demand phase. The nutrition of weaned piglets is directly linked to diet ingredients’ quality. In this phase, ingredients with high digestibility and high palatability are used to stimulate feed intake. This is also a period with high health challenges. Therefore, the benefits of using a product that enhances intestinal health, strengthens the immune system, improves the palatability of the diet, and provides highly digestible nutrients can be realized. Hilyses® is an economically viable option as an exogenous source of nucleotides. Hilyses® is produced by ICC Brazil. It is derived from the further hydrolysis of the RNA content of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. Special enzymes are used to further separate the RNA into free nucleotides and nucleosides. The free nucleotides (single purine or pyrimidine bases) as well as smaller segments of nucleotides can be immediately absorbed by enterocytes. Additionally, Hilyses® provides a source of MOS and high levels of β-glucans, which have shown pathogen agglutination and immuno-stimulating activities, respectively. Two important studies illustrate the benefits of Hilyses® in piglet’s diets during the nursery phase. Study 1: Dietary nucleotides (Hilyses®) effects on duodenum histomorphology parameters of weaned pigs (Andrade et al., 2011). In this study, 144 21-day-old weaned piglets were distributed in a completely randomized design. Six treatments were used with 6 replicates of 4 animals. The treatments were: (control diet, control diet + 40 ppm of colistin sulfate, and control diet + Hilyses® inclusion rates of: 5, 10, 15 and 20 kg/MT). Two diet formulations: a pre-starter ration from 21-35 days of age and a starter ration from 36-56 days of age, were used during the 35-day trial period. At the end of the study, one animal from each pen was slaughtered to evaluate intestinal epithelium histomorphometry. Piglets fed a diet with nucleotides showed an increase in duodenal villus height:crypt depth ratio (V:C), when compared to those fed the colistin diet. Also, a linear increase of duodenal V:C and linear reduction of crypt depth were observed with increasing levels of nucleotides in the diet. These results show that the addition of up to 20 kg/MT of Hilyses® improved intestinal epithelium of weaned piglets (Table 1). Table 1. Duodenal villus height, crypt depth, villus height:crypt depth duodenal of piglets with 56-day-old piglets. Parameters CS1 Hilyses® Levels (kg/MT) Contrasts2 0 5 10 15 20 C1 C2 C3 CV3 (%) Villus height (μm) 500.7 517.4 562.9 568.6 519.5 548.8 NS NS NS 18.5 Crypt depth (μm) 257.6 245.1 257.3 230.8 212.1 204.8 NS NS NS 17.04 1.9 30.3 2.23 2.65 2.45 2.84 NS NS <0.01 18.29 V:C4 Colistin sulfate Orthogonal contrasts: C1 = 0 x CS; C2 = 0 x Hilyses® levels average; C3 = CS x Hilyses® levels average. 3 Coefficient of variation 4 V:C = relationship villi height:crypt depth. NS = non-significant (P>0.05). Significant linear effect (P<0.01). 1 2 Study 2: Hilyses® supplementation in diets of weaned piglets and its effects on performance. This study was conducted at Universidade de São Paulo (USP/ ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil, by V. S. Miyada. Thirty-two 21-day-old weaned piglets were distributed in a completely randomized design with 2 treatments: a control diet + Avilamycin; a control diet + 4 kg/MT Hilyses®. There were 4 replicates for each treatment and 4 animals in each replicate. Two diet formulations: a pre-starter ration from 21-35 days-of-age and a starter ration from 36-56 days-of-age were used during the 35-day trial period. Performance parameters were evaluated. The addition of 4 kg/MT of Hilyses® increased the daily feed intake (+3.2%), daily body weight gain (+11.2) and improved the feed conversion ratio (-7.2%) when compared with the control group, according to Table 2. These results may be due to the higher amount of nucleotides which are immediately absorbed by enterocytes and used for several functions in metabolism, including improved intestinal integrity. When coupled with the MOS and β-glucans mode of action, the result could be a higher villus area with increased absorption and utilization of diet’s nutrients. An increase in feed intake was observed, leading to an increase in body weight gain and improvement in the feed conversion ratio. Therefore, the piglets supplemented with Hilyses® can express increased potential for growth and development as indicated by improved production parameters. Table 2. Performance results of weaned piglets (56 days of age) fed with or without Hilyses® Parameters Control1 Hilyses®2 Daily feed intake (kg) 0.221 0.228 Daily weight gain (kg) 0.160 0.178 Feed conversion ratio 1.38 1.28 1 Control group – Basal diet + Avilamycin Hilyses group – Basal diet + 4 kg/MT of Hilyses® 2 About the Author: Melina Bonato, PhD, is the Research and Development Coordinator for ICC Brazil, an international supplier of animal health products. Ms. Bonato received her Bachelors of Science, Masters and PhD in Animal Nutrition and Production from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, UNESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil. She has had 14 peer-reviewed journal publications to her credit, as well as 67 abstracts and four book chapters. References: ANDRADE, C.; ALMEIDA, V.V.; COSTA, L.B.; BERENCHTEIN, B.; MOURÃO, G.B.; MIYADA, V.S. Levedura hidrolisada como fonte de nucleotídeos para leitões recém-desmamados. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia/Brazilian Journal of Animal Science, v.40, n.4, p.788-796, 2011. CARVER, J.D, and WALKER, W.A. The role of nucleotides in human nutrition. Nutritional Biochemistry. v. 6, pp. 58-72, 1995. PROVEN TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE. HEALTH. FOOD SAFETY. www.qtitechnology.com | 847-531-2819 © 2017 Quality Technology International, Inc. 1707 N. Randall Rd, Suite 300, Elgin, IL 60123 Hilyses is a registered trademark of ICC Brazil. QTI TR vS2:i2-2/17
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