Feeding The Gut, Feeding The Piglet: How A Specific Postbiotic Yeast Can Help Piglets Cope With Physiological Challenges Around Weaning

In the ever-evolving field of animal nutrition, addressing the physiological changes faced by piglets during weaning is crucial. YELA PROSECURE, a specific postbiotic yeast, is designed to meet the modern challenges of piglet nutrition, offering a synergy of highly functional proteins and fibers to help ensure a proper weaning transition and efficient growth.

Modern Challenges in Piglet Nutrition

Piglet nutrition has undergone significant changes, driven by the need for low protein diets and the ban on antibiotics and zinc oxide in feed. These changes have highlighted the importance of using preventive strategies and high quality digestible proteins. The economic pressures of fluctuating raw material prices and the need for utilizing more sustainable raw materials further complicate the nutritional landscape.

YELA PROSECURE, a specifically designed hydrolyzed yeast, can address these issues by providing a reliable and safe source of functional nutrients with consistent quality.

Understanding Nutrient Kinetics

In this context, understanding nutrient kinetics for precision feeding is essential to improve piglet performance and maintain intestinal health. This approach considers how quickly proteins are digested and absorbed, which is crucial for optimizing piglet performance.

YELA PROSECURE, with known flash and fast kinetics of digestion, expands piglet feed formulation possibilities. The product’s formulation allows for more precise nutrition, tailored to the specific nutritional needs and the physiological changes happening around and after weaning.

Physiological Needs of Piglets

Piglets have specific nutritional requirements due to their immature digestive and immune systems. During weaning, they can experience significant physiological challenges, such as temporary fasting, reduced enzyme activity, and microbiota dysbiosis (Figure 1).

The digestive system of piglets is not fully developed at weaning, and their ability to digest and absorb some nutrients is limited. The stomach of a piglet has a limited capacity to lower pH compared to adult pigs, resulting in less efficient protein digestion and a pH often greater than 4. Additionally, the production of digestive enzymes is lower compared to a mature digestive system, making it challenging for piglets to digest solid feed.

The small intestine of piglets undergoes rapid changes during weaning, including mucosal atrophy and inflammation, which can impair nutrient absorption. The hindgut also faces challenges, such as the presence of undigested proteins and the overgrowth of harmful bacteria. These physiological changes highlight the need for specialized nutritional strategies to support piglet gut health and function during that critical period.

Feeding the Gut and Feeding the Piglet

The concept of “feeding the gut” emphasizes the importance of providing nutrients that support a healthy and well-functioning piglet’s digestive system.

Simultaneously, “feeding the piglet” focuses on delivering highly digestible proteins and essential nutrients that support overall growth and development. YELA PROSECURE’s unique formulation ensures both the gut and the piglet receive the necessary nutrients for optimal health and performance.

The Science Behind YELA PROSECURE

YELA PROSECURE: A Complete Amino Acid Profile

YELA PROSECURE boasts a comprehensive profile of amino acids, including both primary and secondary amino acids. A high level of the amino acids present in YELA PROSECURE are in a free form or constitute small peptides. The rapid absorption of these amino acids and small peptides supports immediate nutritional needs and helps maintain gut health.

Moreover, YELA PROSECURE contains branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are considered as an energy source for rapidly proliferating enterocytes and nutrient transport. BCAAs also play an important role in maintaining intestinal barrier function and improving morphology.

YELA PROSECURE’s protein digestibility reaches about 77% at the beginning of the intestinal phase. It reaches close to its maximum in vitro digestibility after only 3 hours of intestinal digestion, finally increasing to 94% after 48 hours. The high bioavailability of YELA PROSECURE’s proteins ensures that piglets receive these necessary nutrients quickly and efficiently.

Watch our Expert Talk video: Bruno Bertaud answers questions about the importance of the kinetics of protein digestion in piglets.

YELA PROSECURE: A Source of Specific Functional Fibers

YELA PROSECURE also contains approximately 38% total dietary fibers. The insoluble fibers part is particularly beneficial for the hindgut’s microbial populations. This fiber fraction promotes the production of SCFAs such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which are essential for gut health and energy supply.

Studies have shown that YELA PROSECURE significantly shapes the piglets’ microbiota. Feeding this specific yeast product has been shown to increase the populations of beneficial microbes such as Peptostreptococcaceae, which are known to be involved in butyrate production. In parallel, a decrease in populations of undesirable bacteria such as Campylobacteraceae is observed (Figure 3). It concludes that the well-balanced fiber profile of YELA PROSECURE helps modulate the gut microbial environment, reducing the risk of dysbiosis and supporting overall gut health.

Beneficial Effects on Feed Intake and Growth

Several trials have demonstrated the consistent beneficial effects of YELA PROSECURE on piglet feed intake and growth along different nutritional strategies such as partial replacement of soybean meal, total replacement of fish meal or blood plasma, and as an alternative to a high-quality hydrolyzed protein.

For instance, a trial conducted on a research farm in Spain in 2020 showed that when YELA PROSECURE was partially replacing soybean meal, the body weight, average daily feed intake (ADFI), and average daily gain (ADG) were significantly improved. Piglets in the YELA PROSECURE group had a 17% increase in body weight and a 44% increase in ADFI compared to the control group.

Another trial on a commercial farm in Germany in 2024, where YELA PROSECURE replaced a high-quality hydrolyzed protein source, showed again improvements in feed intake and growth. The feed intake and the ADG were higher with an 8% and 22% increase, respectively, and piglets at 14 days after weaning were 560g heavier. With YELA PROSECURE, the FCR decreased by 12% compared to the control group (Figure 4).

Practical Recommendations for Piglet Nutrition

To ensure the maintenance of piglet health and support their performance, it is essential to use feed with good appetibility, a well-adapted/balanced amino acid profile, and specific functional fibers. YELA PROSECURE offers a comprehensive solution by combining these elements to diversify the diet profile, ensuring that piglets receive the nutrients they need for a smooth transition through weaning and beyond.

Lallemand recommendations can be adapted to your feed strategy. It can be used for full or partial replacement of raw materials. YELA PROSECURE can be used in all types of piglet feeds, even before weaning, and can be used in organic production. Additionally, YELA PROSECURE is an important source of vitamins and minerals and can contribute to the overall nutritional profile of piglet diets.