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This study investigates potential areas for research and development in the feed sectors in Italy and Serbia. A questionnaire was submitted to 113 feed companies, 37% of these answered. Frequency statistics, data graphs and Simple Correspondence Analysis was obtained. Results indicated that 7% of responders in Italy and 47% of Serbia have not planned any budged for research and development in the last 3 years. The industrial processes were the main focus for Italy, while new product developments for Serbia. For both countries will be essential in the near future increase in product quality, search for new markets and reduction of energy consumption. Additionally, it was observed that company dimension is linked to the area/focus of innovation, irrespective of the type of feed production.

In pig livestock, alternatives to in-feed antibiotics are needed to control enteric infections. Plant extracts such as tannins can represent an alternative as a natural source of functional compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro digestibility and in vivo effects of oral supplementation of combined chestnut (Ch) and quebracho (Qu) tannins in order to establish if they can induce a positive effect on weaned piglets performance, metabolic status and fecal parameters. In vitro digestibility (dry matter, DM) of diets was calculated using a multi-step enzymatic technique. In vitro digested diet samples were further tested on an intestinal porcine enterocyte cell line (IPEC-J2). Weaned piglets (n = 120; 28 ± 2 day old) were randomly allotted to two groups (12 pens in total with 10 pigs per pen): control (Ctrl) and treatment (Ch/Qu). After one week of adaptation (day 0), 35-day-old piglets in the Ctrl group were fed a Ctrl diet and the Ch/Qu group were fed with 1.25% Ch/Qu for 40 days. Body weight and feed intake per pen were recorded weekly. At day 40, blood and fecal samples were collected. Principal metabolic parameters were evaluated from blood samples by enzymatic colorimetric analysis. Total phenolic compounds, urea, and ammonia in feces were analyzed (Megazyme International, Bray, Ireland). In vitro digestibility and cell viability assays showed that the inclusion of 1.25% Ch/Qu slightly reduced diet digestibility compared with the Ctrl diet, while intestinal cell viability was not altered with low concentrations of Ch/Qu digesta compared with Ctrl. In vivo results did not show any adverse effects of Ch/Qu on feed intake and growth performance, confirming that dietary inclusion of Ch/Qu at a concentration of 1.25% did not impair animal performance. The decreased diet DM digestibility in the Ch/Qu diet may cause increased serum concentration of albumin (Ctrl: 19.30 ± 0.88; Ch/Qu: 23.05 ± 0.88) and albumin/globulin ratio (Ctrl: 0.58 ± 0.04; Ch/Qu: 0.82 ± 0.04), but decreased creatinine (Ctrl: 78.92 ± 4.18; Ch/Qu: 54.82 ± 4.18) and urea (Ctrl: 2.18 ± 0.19; Ch/Qu: 0.95 ± 0.19) compared with Ctrl. Pigs in the Ch/Qu group contained higher (p < 0.05) concentrations of fecal phenolic compounds and nitrogen than the Ctrl group, while fecal ammonia and urea were not affected by tannins. In conclusion, Ch/Qu tannin supplementation did not influence growth performance. Although lower digestibility was observed in the diet supplemented with Ch/Qu tannins, Ch/Qu supplementation did not show any adverse effect on intestinal epithelial cell viability.

Simple Summary: Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing global concern. Effective alternatives that could replace and reduce antimicrobial treatments in farming have therefore become crucial for animal, human and environmental health. In swine farming, weaning is a stressful phase where piglets can develop multifactorial enteric disorders that require antibiotic treatments. Functional nutrition could thus represent a valuable alternative to reduce and tackle antibiotic resistance. This study assesses the effects of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri on in-feed supplementation in weaned piglets. After weaning, piglets were allotted to four experimental groups fed a basal diet (CTRL) and a basal diet supplemented with 2 × 108 CFU/g of L. plantarum (PLA), L. reuteri and a combination of the two strains (P+R) for 28 days. Zootechnical performance and diarrhoea occurrence were recorded. Microbiological and serum metabolism analyses of faeces and blood samples were performed. Supplemented groups with lactobacilli showed a lower occurrence of diarrhoea and improved faecal consistency compared to the control. The PLA group registered the lowest diarrhoea frequency during the 28-day experimental period. The results suggest that dietary administration of L. plantarum and L. reuteri could prevent the occurrence of diarrhoea in weaned piglets. The effects of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri and their combination were assessed in weaned piglets. Three hundred and fifty weaned piglets (Landrace × Large White), balanced in terms of weight and sex, were randomly allotted to four experimental groups (25 pens, 14 piglets/pen). Piglets were fed a basal control diet (CTRL, six pens) and a treatment diet supplemented with 2 × 108 CFU/g of L. plantarum (PLA, 6 pens), 2 × 108 CFU/g L. reuteri (REU, six pens) and the combination of both bacterial strains (1 × 108 CFU/g of L. plantarum combined with 1 × 108 CFU/g of L. reuteri, P+R, 7 pens) for 28 days. Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly. Diarrhoea occurrence was assessed weekly by the faecal score (0–3; considering diarrhoea ≥ 2). At 0 and 28 days, faecal samples were obtained from four piglets per pen for microbiological analyses and serum samples were collected from two piglets per pen for serum metabolic profiling. Treatments significantly reduced diarrhoea occurrence and decreased the average faecal score (0.94 ± 0.08 CTRL, 0.31 ± 0.08 PLA, 0.45 ± 0.08 REU, 0.27 ± 0.08 P+R; p < 0.05). The PLA group registered the lowest number of diarrhoea cases compared to other groups (20 cases CTRL, 5 cases PLA, 8 cases REU, 10 cases P+R; p < 0.01). After 28 days, the globulin serum level increased in PLA compared to the other groups (24.91 ± 1.09 g/L CTRL, 28.89 ± 1.03 g/L PLA, 25.91 ± 1.03 g/L REU, 25.31 ± 1.03 g/L P+R; p < 0.05). L. plantarum and L. reuteri could thus be considered as interesting functional additives to prevent diarrhoea occurrence in weaned piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Replacing and reducing antimicrobial treatments in livestock farming has become crucial for animal, human and environmental health due to global concerns regarding antimicrobial resistance. Weaning is a stressful phase in which piglets can develop enteric disorders leading to the massive use of antibiotics. In this scenario, functional nutrition represents one alternative to reducing antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the dietary administration of the combination of tannin extracts, leonardite and tributyrin supplementation on weaned piglets. After weaning, piglets were divided into two experimental groups: one fed a basal diet (CTRL) and one fed a basal diet supplemented with 0.75% Quebracho and Chestnut tannin extracts, 0.25% leonardite and 0.20% tributyrin (MIX), respectively, for 28 days. Zootechnical performance and diarrhoea incidence were recorded. Microbiological and microbiota analyses were performed on faecal samples, and metabolic profile of blood serum was evaluated. The MIX group revealed a reduced incidence of diarrhoea and improved faecal consistency compared to the CTRL group. After 28 days, MIX revealed an increased lactobacilli:coliform ratio compared to CTRL, and the serum metabolic profile showed lower levels of low-density lipoproteins, suggesting a modulation of the lipid metabolism. The results suggest that the combination of tannin extracts, leonardite and tributyrin could improve animal health, thus reducing diarrhoea occurrence in weaned piglets. The effects of the dietary administration of a combination of Quebracho and Chestnut tannins, leonardite and tributyrin were evaluated in weaned piglets. A total of 168 weaned piglets (Landrace × Large White) were randomly allotted to two experimental groups (6 pens/group, 14 piglets/pen). Animals were fed a basal control diet (CTRL) and a treatment diet (MIX) supplemented with 0.75% tannin extracts, 0.25% leonardite and 0.20% tributyrin for 28 days. Individual body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly. Diarrhoea incidence was recorded by a faecal scoring scale (0–3; considering diarrhoea ≥ 2). At 0 and 28 days, faecal samples were obtained from four piglets/pen for microbiological and chemical analyses of faecal microbiota, which were then assessed by V3-V4 region amplification sequencing. At 28 days, blood from two piglets/pen was sampled to evaluate the serum metabolic profile. After 28 days, a reduction in diarrhoea incidence was observed in the MIX compared to CTRL group (p < 0.05). In addition, compared to CTRL, MIX showed a higher lactobacilli:coliform ratio and increased Prevotella and Fibrobacter genera presence (p < 0.01). The serum metabolic profile showed a decreased level of low-density lipoproteins in the treated group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, a combination of tannin extract, leonardite and tributyrin could decrease diarrhoea incidence and modulate the gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weaned piglets often suffer from the enteric disorders and post-weaning diarrhoea. Natural extracts, due to its functional properties, such as tannins from chestnut and quebracho are often considered as feed additives against diarrhoea after the antibiotics ban (Reg. UE 1831/2003). The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary effects of tannins on growth performance and blood parameters of weaned piglets. A total of 120 piglets (Large White x Landrace) weaned at d 28±2 were randomly allotted to one of two treatments (control vs. tannin) with 6 pens per treatment and 10 pigs per pen. The tannin diet was supplemented with 1.25% of chestnut and quebracho tannins (Silvateam, Italy). The experiment lasted 40 days. Individual body weight (BW) was recorded at d 0, 14, 28 and 40. Feed intake was measured weekly to calculate feed efficiency from d 0 to 14, d 14 to 28, and d 28 to 40. Blood samples were collected on d 40 from a subset of animals (4 pigs/pen). Data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX of SAS 9.4 (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Supplementation of tannins did not affect BW and feed intake throughout the experiment. However, addition of tannins showed tendency to increase the feed efficiency on d 14 to d 28, compared with control (P = 0.54; 60.4 vs. 52.3, respectively). Dietary addition of tannins significantly increase the serum concentration of albumin, and decrease of globulin, urea and creatinine compared with control (P < 0.05; 23.05 vs. 19.31 g/L, 30.13 vs. 33.58 g/L; 0.98 vs. 2.18 mmol/L; 53.92 vs. 78.92 µmol/L, respectively). In conclusion, tannin supplementation impacted the blood parameters that were related to protein utilization, although this benefit was not reflected in growth performance of weaned pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus reuteri and their combination were assessed in weaned piglets. Three hundred and fifty weaned piglets (Landrace × Large White), balanced in terms of weight and sex, were randomly allotted to four experimental groups (25 pens, 14 piglets/pen). Piglets were fed a basal control diet (CTRL, six pens) and a treatment diet supplemented with 2 × 10 8 CFU/g of L. plantarum (PLA, 6 pens), 2 × 10 8 CFU/g L. reuteri (REU, six pens) and the combination of both bacterial strains (1 × 10 8 CFU/g of L. plantarum combined with 1 × 10 8 CFU/g of L. reuteri , P+R, 7 pens) for 28 days. Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly. Diarrhoea occurrence was assessed weekly by the faecal score (0-3; considering diarrhoea ≥ 2). At 0 and 28 days, faecal samples were obtained from four piglets per pen for microbiological analyses and serum samples were collected from two piglets per pen for serum metabolic profiling. Treatments significantly reduced diarrhoea occurrence and decreased the average faecal score (0.94 ± 0.08 CTRL, 0.31 ± 0.08 PLA, 0.45 ± 0.08 REU, 0.27 ± 0.08 P+R; p < 0.05). The PLA group registered the lowest number of diarrhoea cases compared to other groups (20 cases CTRL, 5 cases PLA, 8 cases REU, 10 cases P+R; p < 0.01). After 28 days, the globulin serum level increased in PLA compared to the other groups (24.91 ± 1.09 g/L CTRL, 28.89 ± 1.03 g/L PLA, 25.91 ± 1.03 g/L REU, 25.31 ± 1.03 g/L P+R; p < 0.05). L. plantarum and L. reuteri could thus be considered as interesting functional additives to prevent diarrhoea occurrence in weaned piglets.

The effects of the dietary administration of a combination of Quebracho and Chestnut tannins, leonardite and tributyrin were evaluated in weaned piglets. A total of 168 weaned piglets (Landrace × Large White) were randomly allotted to two experimental groups (6 pens/group, 14 piglets/pen). Animals were fed a basal control diet (CTRL) and a treatment diet (MIX) supplemented with 0.75% tannin extracts, 0.25% leonardite and 0.20% tributyrin for 28 days. Individual body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly. Diarrhoea incidence was recorded by a faecal scoring scale (0-3; considering diarrhoea ≥ 2). At 0 and 28 days, faecal samples were obtained from four piglets/pen for microbiological and chemical analyses of faecal microbiota, which were then assessed by V3-V4 region amplification sequencing. At 28 days, blood from two piglets/pen was sampled to evaluate the serum metabolic profile. After 28 days, a reduction in diarrhoea incidence was observed in the MIX compared to CTRL group ( p < 0.05). In addition, compared to CTRL, MIX showed a higher lactobacilli:coliform ratio and increased Prevotella and Fibrobacter genera presence ( p < 0.01). The serum metabolic profile showed a decreased level of low-density lipoproteins in the treated group ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, a combination of tannin extract, leonardite and tributyrin could decrease diarrhoea incidence and modulate the gut microbiota.