Pigs are continuously exposed to microbial pathogens and immune- stimulatory antigens that have a negative impact on productivity. Pigs exposed to immune challenge, without exhibiting any clinical signs of disease, show reduced appetite and growth and less efficient use of nutrients compared to healthy pigs. While current dietary strategies include use of in-feed antibiotics, increasing consumer pressure and regulatory restrictions have led to the complete elimination of antibiotic use for growth promotion and pressure to reduce overall antibiotic usage in animal agriculture. Therefore, novel nutritional strategies designed to minimize costs must maintain or promote animal health and resistance to infectious challenge. Results from this project show diet supplemented with key functional amino acids (FAA), specifically threonine (Thr), methionine (Met), and tryptophan (Trp), above estimated requirements for growth improves growth performance and immune status of pigs, regardless of dietary protein content.
Examining the effectiveness of providing functional amino acids to enhance pig robustness (full article)
