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The objective of this review was to identify the characteristics and functional roles of milk coproducts from human, bovine, and porcine sources and their impacts on the intestinal microbiota and intestinal immunity of suckling and nursery pigs. Modern pig production weans piglets at 3 to 4 weeks of age, which is earlier than pigs would naturally be weaned outside of artificial rearing. As a result, the immature intestines of suckling and nursery pigs face many challenges associated with intestinal dysbiosis, which can be caused by weaning stress or the colonization of the intestines by enteric pathogens. Milk oligosaccharides are found in sow milk and function as a prebiotic in the intestines of pigs as they cannot be degraded by mammalian enzymes and are thus utilized by intestinal microbial populations. The consumption of milk oligosaccharides during suckling and through the nursery phase can provide benefits to young pigs by encouraging the proliferation of beneficial microbial populations, preventing pathogen adhesion to enterocytes, and through directly modulating immune responses. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the specific functional components of milk oligosaccharides from human, bovine, and porcine sources, and identify potential strategies to utilize milk oligosaccharides to benefit young pigs through the suckling and nursery periods.

The objectives of this review are to identify the nutritional challenges faced by modern sows and present potential solutions to mitigate excessive maternal tissue loss and reproductive failure as it relates to recent genetic improvements. Current feeding programs have limitations to support the rapid genetic improvements in reproductive performance for modern sows. Since 2012, both litter size at birth and fetal weight have increased by 2.26 pigs per litter and 0.22 kg per piglet, respectively, thereby increasing the nutrient needs for sows during gestation and lactation. Prediction models generated in this review predict that modern sows would need 31% more lysine during gestation when compared with current feeding programs. Physiological challenges facing modern sows are also addressed in this review. High oxidative stress, pelvic organ prolapse, and lameness can directly affect the sow, whereas these physiological challenges can have negative impacts on colostrum and milk quality. In response, there is growing interest in investigating the functional roles of select bioactive compounds as feed additives to mitigate the severity of these challenges. Selenium sources, catechins, and select plant extracts have been utilized to reduce oxidative stress, calcium chloride and phytase have been used to mitigate pelvic organ prolapse and lameness, algae and yeast derivatives have been used to improve colostrum and milk quality, and fiber sources and probiotics have been commonly utilized to improve sow intestinal health. Collectively, this review demonstrates the unique challenges associated with managing the feeding programs for modern sows and the opportunities for revision of the amino acid requirements as well as the use of select bioactive compounds to improve reproductive performance.

Global pig production has increased by 140% since the 1960s. The increase in global population, coupled with improving socioeconomic conditions of many countries has led to an increased consumption of meat globally, including pork. To keep up with demand and capitalize on economic opportunities, the countries of China, the United States (US), and the European Union (EU) have become the top 3 pork producers globally. China is of particular interest, as it is the both the largest country in pork production and pig numbers, as well as being the largest importer of pork from other countries. Globally, the efficiency of pork production has improved, in relation to the integration of pig production and the dramatic increase in research efforts in pig nutrition and production. Through integration, large producers can consolidate resources and maximize profits and efficiency. The increased research interest and efforts in pig production have given scientists and producers the opportunity to collaborate to adapt to challenges and identify possible solutions to issues brought on by a volatile global market. Intestinal health (23%), general nutrition and growth (23%), and amino acid nutrition (15%) were the top 3 areas (61%) leading research trends in pig nutrition and production. Major dietary interventions with feed additives evaluated include functional amino acids, feed enzymes, pre-/pro-/post-biotics, and phytobiotics with a common goal to improve the growth efficiency by enhancing nutrient utilization and intestinal health. With increasing global issues with environment, pig producers and the supporting scientists should continue their efforts to improve the production efficiency and to reduce the environmental footprint from pig production.