Nutritional Interventions for Gut Development and Health in Nursing and Weaned Pigs
A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 3661
Special Issue Editor
Interests: neuroscience; gastrointestinal physiology; fatty liver disease; animal behavior (pigs); cell biology assays; vaccine development
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The structural and functional gastrointestinal system of newborn pigs is poorly developed at birth and undergoes rapid specialization in the first few weeks of the animal’s life. In addition, the mucosal immunity of newborn pigs does not reach maturity until 6 weeks of age, making them more susceptible to severe enteric infections and subsequent antibiotic overuse. Weaning and transition from milk to solid feed are considered the major adaptive stressors for nursing piglets, which may cause gut dysbiosis and disturbances in the intestinal mucosa integrity and immunity, negatively impacting feed efficiency and growth. Currently, nutritional interventions, including prebiotics and probiotics, and feed additives such as essential oils, organic acids, protein supplements, oligosaccharides, short-chain fatty acids and microbials are being evaluated for restoring intestinal balance, enhancing nutrient digestion, and aiding in better management of the nursing and weaning periods. The emerging importance of the microbiota–immune crosstalk in regulating homeostasis of intestinal flora brings to our attention how nutritional intervention may modulate and contribute to pig gut development and health.
This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in all innovative nutritional strategies in pigs aimed at improved intestinal health, balanced gut microbiota, and integrated gut barrier function. We also welcome studies utilizing in vitro models of the piglet GI tract to explore mechanisms of pig intestinal health.
Dr. Magdalena A. Maj
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- swine
- microbiome
- gut dysbiosis
- protein
- diet
- development
- immune cells
- immune–microbiota crosstalk
- taxa
- host immunity
- immunomodulation
- probiotics
- gut health
- disease
- feed efficiency
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