Cristobal, Minoy, Su A Lee, Andrea P. Mallea, Leidy J. Torres-Mendoza, Jessica P. Acosta, Carl M. M. Parsons, Hans H. Stein. 2024. Effect of feeding intact protein from soybean meal instead of crystalline amino acids on growth performance, protein synthesis, and immune response of growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 102, Suppl. S2. P 45 - 46. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae102.054 Link to the abstract.

The olive oil tree (Olea europaea L.) contains hydrophilic and lipophilic bioactive compounds, which include flavones, phenolic acids, phenolic alcohols, secoiridoids, and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. These bioactive compounds have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, and therefore, olive-derived plant bioactive compounds may reduce chronic inflammation and intestinal integrity in pigs. Therefore, olive-derived plant bioactive compounds, such as Olextra 1200, may improve health and prevent disease by inhibiting B cell activation and cytokine expression. However, there is a lack of data demonstrating effects of olive extracts on reproductive performance of sows and their offspring. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation of Olextra 1200 increases reproductive performance as well as the immune status of sows.

Acosta, Jessica P., and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Xylanase or a stimbiotic increased growth performance and total tract digestibility of nutrients in diets for weanling pigs, but feeding sows xylanase in lactation did not influence pig growth performance after weaning. XXXVIII Curso de especializacion FEDNA. Pag 327. Link to abstract.

Arabinoxylans are the predominant fiber component in cereal grains and cereal co-products. They have a backbone of β-(1− 4) linked xylose units with side chains of arabinose, glucuronic acid, acetyl, and phenolic acids. Xylanase hydrolyzes the β-(1− 4) glycosidic bonds between xylose units in the backbone and releases a mixture of xylose and xylo-oligosaccharides that can be either absorbed or fermented by pigs. Previous data indicate that xylanase increased the degradation of dietary fiber and increased energy digestibility in diets for growing pigs and lactating sows. Xylo-oligosaccharides improve growth performance of nursery pigs because they serve as prebiotics that modulate gut microbiota. A stimbiotic (i.e., xylanase in combination with xylo-oligosaccharides) may improve growth performance of weanling pigs to a greater extent than either additive alone by shifting the intestinal microbiome to favor fiber fermentation. However, there are no data on possible effects of xylanase in sows diets on growth performance and intestinal health of the offspring or on the impact of the stimbiotic on digestibility of nutrients when fed to nursery pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that xylanase or a stimbiotic improves growth performance and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and total dietary fiber (TDF), and the concentration of digestible energy (DE) of diets for weanling pigs, but that the effect is greater in offspring of sows fed xylanase in lactation than in offspring of sows not fed xylanase.

McGhee, Molly L., Jessica P. Acosta, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Weanling pigs consume more feed if hybrid rye replaces corn in diets, but average daily gain and fecal scores are not impacted by hybrid rye. Translational Animal Science, 7: 1–10. doi.org/10.1093/tas/txad022. Link to full text.

Acosta, J. P., C. D. Espinosa, N. Jaworski, and H. H. Stein. 2021. A Corn Protein Product Has Greater Concentration of Digestible Amino Acids and Energy Than Low-oil Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles When Fed to Pigs and May Be Used in Diets for Weanling Pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 99(Suppl. 1): 85–86. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab054.139. Link to Abstract.

Espinosa, C. D., J. P. Acosta, and H. H. Stein. 2020. Growth performance not sacrificed with corn protein. National Hog Farmer, On-line edition, October, 2020. Link to full text.

Cristobal, Minoy, Jessica P. Acosta, Su A Lee, and Hans H. Stein. 2020. A new source of high-protein distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) has greater digestibility of amino acids and energy, but less digestibility of phosphorus, than de-oiled DDGS when fed to growing pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 2020, Vol. 98, No. 7, 1–9. doi:10.1093/jas/skaa200.

NexPro is a high protein feed ingredient that is generated via downstream processing of co-products from the dry-grind ethanol industry. Results from digestibility experiments indicate that NexPro contribute considerable quantities of amino acids and energy to diets fed to pigs, but there are no data demonstrating effects on growth performance of including NexPro in diets for weanling pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that NexPro may replace other high-value protein sources in diets for weanling pigs without impacting pig growth performance.