Phytogenies in sow feed: One more piglet weaned

摘要

Every year steps are being taken to find methods for raising pigs entirely without the use of antibiotics. In this process, the health of mother sows is not forgotten. Influencing her health status directly impacts her capacity for weaning higher amounts of piglets, as this article shows. The vast majority of phytogenic feed additives (PFA) are classified according to the Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council under the category Sensory Additives and assigned to the functional group of flavouring substances. Phytogenic feed additives are flavours of a new generation, in contrast to conventional flavours used in pig farming especially in piglet feed. Known also as 'bio-functional flavours', they not only influence thesmell and taste of feed but also trigger a number of processes in the animal such as having an influence on digestibility and absorption of feed ingredients. These functional flavours have also been shown to stabilise the physiological microbiota in the digestive tract and reduce inflammatory processes in the intestinal epithelium.