Anpario’s Global Technical Service Manager and Swine Expert, Heidi Hall, recently had her work on improving piglet health through maternal feeding of oregano essential oil published. The paper, published in the Animal Microbiome Journal earlier this year, depicts the benefits offered to piglets when the sow is fed diets supplemented with Orego-Stim.
Results demonstrate that when the Orego-Stim, a source of 100% natural oregano essential oil, was fed to maternal rations during late gestation and lactation, piglet health and performance was improved. There was a reduced incidence of mortality and a lower requirement for medication. In addition, early piglet growth was significantly improved pre-weaning and numerically improved post-weaning, with reduced bodyweight variation seen at each timepoint.
The paper also reports a positive shift in both the sow and piglet gut microbiota when Orego-Stim was included in maternal diets. Sows showed an increase in beneficial Lactobacilli populations and a higher number of bacterial families important for fibre digestion. Analysis of piglet microbiota depicted a decrease in potentially pathogenic Enterobacteria, while bacteria responsible for producing beneficial butyrate were increased.
To read the full paper visit https://animalmicrobiome.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42523-020-00064-2