Effect of a polyphenol-based additive in pig diets in the early stages of growth

The weaning period is a stressful period for the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of piglets. This work aims to evaluate the effects of the commercial polyphenol-based product GreenFIS® on: (1) GIT health and performance of 60 weaned piglets; (2) digestibility in 18 growing pigs. Three diets were tested: a control diet (C), C plus 2.5 g of GreenFIS®/kg C (T1), and C plus 5 g of GreenFIS®/kg C (T2). After the post-weaning trial three piglets per treatment were sacrificed for the GIT histological analysis. No differences between diets were recorded in terms of growing performance or clinical and biochemical blood parameters. The GIT histological analysis did not show any indicators of inflammation for any of the groups. The feces of the two extreme treatments (C and T2) were analyzed for microbiota, revealing a greater presence of the Ruminococcus bromii group, positively associated with starch degradation, in T2. In the second experiment six pigs per treatment were randomly chosen for the digestibility study. The inclusion of GreenFIS® at both levels led to a higher fecal digestibility of gross energy (86.2%, 89.1%, and 89.5%, for C, T1, and T2, respectively) and crude protein (87.0%, 90.2%, and 90.0%). In conclusion, the additive did not improve, in the excellent experimental hygienic conditions, the gut health, but it did increase nutrient digestibility.