R. Cabrera;J. L. Usry;Consuelo Arrellano;Eduardo Terra Nogueira;Marianne Kutschenko;Adam J. Moeser;Jack Odl

Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA; Laboratory of Developmental Nutrition, Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA; Micronutrients, Indianapolis, USA;Huvepharma USA, Peachtree City, USA;Laboratory of Developmental Nutrition, Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, US;Ajinomoto Heartland Lysine, Chicago, USA;Ajinomoto do Brasil. Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition, São Paulo, Brazil;Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA

Creep feeding;Glutamine;Growth performance;Intestinal health;SEM;Villi;D-XYLOSE ABSORPTION;DIETARY GLUTAMINE;GASTROINTESTINAL-TRACT;ESCHERICHIA-COLI;WEANED PIGLETS;IMMUNE-SYSTEM;MAMMARY-GLAND;METABOLISM;PIGS;ACID

Background: Creep feeding is used to stimulate piglet post-weaning feed consumption. L-Glutamine (GLN) is an important source of fuel for intestinal epithelial cells. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of creep feeding and addingGLN or AminoGut (AG; containing glutamine + glutamate) to pre- and post-weaning diets on pig performance and intestinal health. Litters (N = 120) were allotted to four treatments during 14-21 d of lactation: 1) No creep feed (NC, n = 45); 2) creep fed control diet (CFCD, n =45); 3) creep fed 1% GLN (CFGLN, n = 15); 4) creep fed .88% AG (CFAG, n = 15). After weaning, the NC and CFCD groups were sub-divided into three groups (n = 15 each), receiving either a control nursery diet (NC-CD, CFCD-CD) or a dietsupplemented with either GLN (NC-GLN, CFCD-GLN) or with AG (NC-AG, CFCD-AG). Litters that were creep fed with diets containing GLN or AG also were supplemented with those amino acids in the nursery diets (CFGLN-GLN, CFAG-AG). Glutamine was added at 1% in all three post-weaning diet phases and AG was added at .88% in phase 1 and 2 and at .66% in phase 3.Results: Feed conversion (feed/gain) showed means among treatment means close to significance [P= 0.056) and Tukey's test for pairwise mean comparisons showed that Pigs in the CFGLN-GLN group had the best feed conversion (feed/gain) in the first three-week period post-weaning, exceeding (P = 0.044) controls (CFCD-CD) by 34%. The NC-AG group had (P = 0.02) the greatest feed intake in the last three week of the study, exceeding controls (CFCD-CD) by 12%. CFGLN-GLN, CFCD-GLN and sow reared (SR) pigs had the greatest (P= 0.049) villi height exceeding the CFCD-AG group by 18%, 20% and 19% respectively. The CFAG-AG group had the deepest (P= 0.001) crypts among all treatments. CFGLN-GLN, CFCD-GLN and SR groups had the greatest (P = 0.001) number of cells proliferating (PCNA) exceeding those in the NC-CD group by 43%, 54% and 63% respectively. Sow reared pigs showed the greatest (P = 0.001) intestinal absorption capacity for xylose and mannitol.Conclusion: Supplementation of creep feed and nursery diets with GLN and/or AminoGut in the first three week improved feed conversion possibly due to improved intestinal health.