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World production of pigs is heading towards moments of challenges, as world population continues to grow at an ever increasing rate. Thus, consumer demand for a sufficient supply of pork quality and safety is the main goal. The decrease in the acceptance of antibiotic drugs in various parts of the world and the concomitant debates about pollution and waste products of animal origin are factors that guide in search of new concepts and sustainable. Moreover, producers have to face the increase in production costs and increasing market pressure, triggered by increases in energy prices, raw materials and labor. Consequently, the use of the investment should be much more efficient. New concepts are required to overcome all the challenges ahead. Therefore, the animal must respond with appropriate tools. Obviously, all conditions of the environment are addressed in one direction: security implementation, sustainability and cost-effective production techniques.
Fitogenics high potentialIn this aspect, the fitogenics compounds, including herbs, spices and essential oils have been gaining wide attention to human health, as well as in animal nutrition programs in recent years. Its use has a long history in human consumption as flavorings, fragrances and medicines. Its beneficial effects have been shown on a huge variety of scientific reports related to their antimicrobial effects, antifungals, antioxidants and many other biological activities. At the moment, these compounds are being used increasingly frequently as additives in animal nutrition. In fact, a growing number of scientists and field reports show that these compounds exert substantial effects on performance of animals (Kroismayr et al., 2008, Windisch et al., 2008). For this reason, the substances are considered fitogenics well accepted by consumers for its natural features and proven.
Fitogenics in the production of piglets
Economic success in producing piglets depends largely on the performance of sows. The number of piglets reared per sow per year is the most significant parameter and is affected mainly by food intake and milk production of the sow. The food intake of sows during lactation not only affects fertility but also has a direct impact on the performance of the litter. Lactating sows have a high energy requirement that can easily exceed the capacity of food consumption, especially with very large litters. In addition, feed intake of sows is affected by temperature. Therefore, obtaining a high food consumption becomes more critical for producers in warmer climates.
The high energy requirement of the sow during lactation is offset by the reduction of body mass. A reduction in body mass 15 kg is commonly considered tolerable (Jerochim et al., 1999). However, these reductions may adversely affect the fertility of the sow. There is a close relationship between the size of the litter, feed intake and milk production, indicating that the food intake of the sow has a considerable impact on the performance of the litter. The sow's milk is the primary source of energy, nutrients and antibodies for healthy piglets that meet their growth rates. In addition, there is a positive correlation between weaning weight and performance in fattening (Smith et al., 2007), ex.: A higher weaning weight, the best increase in the development phase of fattening.
To evaluate nutritional strategies to influence the production of the sow, numerous studies have been conducted in different regions of the world, in conditions as regulated field. In these studies, sows were fed the basal diet and/or basal diet plus an additive performance enhancers fitogènic Biomin (Biomin® P.E.P.) to compare their results. As a result of these studies, Biomin® P.E.P. has proven to be highly beneficial to increase feed intake of sows during lactation. Therefore, not surprisingly, also increased the growth of piglets were from sows that were fed Biomin® P.E.P. was greater than that of control piglets. |