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Innovative Uses of Trace Elements and Plant-Derived Bioactive Additives in...
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Innovative Uses of Trace Elements and Plant-Derived Bioactive Additives in Swine Nutrition

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 566

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jun Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Interests: sow and piglet nutrition; antioxidants; oxidative stress; trace elements; plant-derived bioactive additives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tiande Zou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Interests: nutritional regulation of skeletal muscle development
Prof. Dr. Jinming You

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Interests: swine nutrition and metabolism; functional feed additives; intestinal development and health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Summary: In modern intensive large-scale swine production, pigs may encounter various external stress challenges, which include social factors like stocking density, feed-related factors such as mycotoxin contamination, environmental factors like heat stress, pathogenic factors including Escherichia coli infections, and others. These challenges have the potential to negatively impact pig productivity and/or pork quality, resulting in significant economic losses for pig farmers and potential dissatisfaction among consumers. Importantly, there is growing evidence that several trace elements and plant-derived feed additives can aid in the enhancement of antioxidant and immunity functions in pigs, consequently improving overall pig productivity and/or pork quality.

This research topic will primarily focus on the innovative utilization of trace elements and plant-derived feed additives to enhance the productivity or pork quality phenotypes in various physiological phases of pigs, including weaned (nursery) piglets and growing–finishing pigs, as well as sows and their suckling piglets. Additionally, researchers are encouraged to investigate the potential underlying mechanisms of the improved phenotypes, with a focus on the potential regulatory targets or tissues, such as the intestine and liver for nursery piglets, skeletal muscle (related to pork quality) for growing–finishing pigs, and the placenta and mammary gland for sows.

Dr. Jun Chen
Dr. Tiande Zou
Prof. Dr. Jinming You
Guest Editors

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

  • pig
  • trace elements
  • plant-derived feed additives
  • productivity
  • pork quality
  • intestine and liver
  • skeletal muscle

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 826 KiB  
Article
Impact of Low-Dose Amino Acid-Chelated Trace Minerals on Performance, Antioxidant Capacity, and Fecal Excretion in Growing-Finishing Pigs
by Yunxia Xiong, Fei Zhao, Yaojie Li, Qiwen Wu, Huaqin Xiao, Shuting Cao, Xuefen Yang, Kaiguo Gao, Zongyong Jiang, Shenglan Hu and Li Wang
Animals 2025, 15(9), 1213; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15091213 - 24 Apr 2025
Viewed by 205
Abstract
Our previous study has shown that replacing 100% inorganic trace minerals with 30% amino acid-chelated ones can enhance antioxidant capacity, improve nutrient digestibility, and reduce fecal excretion in growing-finishing pigs without compromising performance. This study aimed to further reduce the amino acid-chelated trace [...] Read more.
Our previous study has shown that replacing 100% inorganic trace minerals with 30% amino acid-chelated ones can enhance antioxidant capacity, improve nutrient digestibility, and reduce fecal excretion in growing-finishing pigs without compromising performance. This study aimed to further reduce the amino acid-chelated trace minerals content in pig diets and assess its impact. Seventy-two growing-finishing barrows (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), with an initial average body weight of 67.04 ± 0.12 kg, were divided into four groups: negative control (NC, no additional trace minerals), high-dose inorganic trace minerals (HITM, 100% inorganic; 75 mg/kg Fe, 10 mg/kg Cu, 65 mg/kg Zn, 25 mg/kg Mn), and two low-dose groups (15 mg/kg Fe, 4 mg/kg Cu, 12.5 mg/kg Zn, 5 mg/kg Mn) receiving either inorganic sulfates (LITM) or amino acid-chelates (LOTM). The trial concluded when the body weight of pigs reached ~130 kg. Results showed that low-dose trace mineral substitution did not adversely affect growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, or nutrient digestibility in growing-finishing pigs (p > 0.05). The LOTM pigs exhibited significantly higher serum glutathione peroxidase, liver total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), and CuZn-SOD activities, muscle CuZn-SOD and catalase activities, and lower liver malondialdehyde content compared with LITM (p < 0.05). Muscle CuZn-SOD in LITM was lower than HITM (p < 0.05), but not in LOTM (p > 0.05). LOTM showed significantly higher muscle Fe content and lower muscle Mn content compared with HITM (p < 0.05), yet its muscle Mn level was higher than that of LITM (p < 0.05). Liver Zn content decreased in LITM compared with HITM (p < 0.05), but remained unchanged in LOTM (p > 0.05). Both LITM and LOTM significantly reduced fecal emissions of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn compared with HITM (p < 0.05), with greater reductions in Cu, Zn, and Mn in LOTM. In conclusion, low-dose substitution of inorganic or organic trace minerals did not negatively affect growth, carcass traits, meat quality, or nutrient digestibility in growing-finishing pigs, while it effectively reduced fecal heavy metal emissions. Organic trace minerals were more effective in enhancing antioxidant activity and trace mineral deposition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Uses of Trace Elements and Plant-Derived Bioactive Additives in Swine Nutrition)
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