Feed Additives and Micronutrients on Performance, Nutrient Utilization, Immunity, Oxidative Stress, Gut Health and Microbiome of Pigs and Sows: Third Edition
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 28
Special Issue Editor
Interests: enzymes; butyrate; emulsifier; probiotics; prebiotics; postbiotics; antioxidants; minerals; vitamins; sows; weaning pigs; growing-finishing pigs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In modern swine production, weaning pigs and sows face several challenges, including stress, disease, nutritional deficiencies, and gut-related issues. Nutrition, particularly the inclusion of functional amino acids, micronutrients, and feed additives, plays a key role in supporting growth, immune function, gut health, and overall resilience. Sows are essential to swine productivity, and their reproductive performance, colostrum and milk quality, and maternal gut microbiome directly affect the survival, development, and immunity of their piglets.
Studies have shown that both traditional and novel feed additives, along with functional amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, can enhance nutrient utilization, immunity, antioxidant capacity, gut integrity, microbial balance, and intestinal barrier function. These benefits are especially important during vulnerable periods, such as weaning, when piglets are prone to stress, oxidative damage, and gut permeability, and farrowing, when sows experience significant physiological stress.
However, further research is required to determine the optimal levels and specific functions of these nutrients and additives, as well as to better understand their mechanisms of action.
This Special Issue invites original research and review articles focused on the roles of feed additives, functional amino acids, and micronutrients in enhancing performance, immunity, resistance to oxidative stress, gut microbiota, and intestinal health in pigs and sows. The aim is to support sustainable, health-focused swine production through science-based nutritional strategies.
Dr. Young-Dal Jang
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- weaning pigs
- gut health
- amino acids
- vitamins
- minerals
- feed additives
- sows
- immunity
- digestibility
- microbiome
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
