Society is increasingly aware of the importance of food as a key factor in our health. In addition to a greater tendency to use balanced diets, consumers also want higher quality food, free of chemical residues.

An important goal for the scientific community and health authorities is the establishment of residue limits for pharmacologically active substances in food products of animal origin. In line with this, there is a global trend of pork-importing countries (China, Japan, South Korea, etc.) to become increasingly strict regarding the number of prohibited substances and to reduce the residue limit.

Another issue that concerns the entire scientific community is the increase in bacterial resistances. Nowadays, there are not disputes on how antibiotics should be used. However, antibiotics are still misused at sub-therapeutic doses in many countries, increasing the risk of bacterial infections in humans that cannot be controlled easily with antibiotics.

This situation was well understood in Europe, which, since 2006, prohibited the use of growth promoter antibiotics and regulated general antibiotic therapies, in this sense the use of antibiotics is advancing globally.

Currently in Mexico, antibiotics are used as a tool to improve productivity, but, with China being the main destination for Mexican pork, Mexican exporters must reduce the use of antibiotics and chemical substances. This same situation affects many Latin American countries.

For this reason, a trial was carried out in a farm in northern Mexico that exports the pigs it produces and, therefore, needed to reduce the use of antibiotics. This trial was presented at the 2021 Biovet’s International Symposium (online).

Use of natural preservatives and intestinal conditioner pronutrients to replace antibiotics in fattening pigs

Objective

• The objectives of the trial was to evaluate the effect of Alquernat Nebsui and Alquermold Natural on the productive parameters.
• to improve intestinal welfare and reduce digestive disorders associated with imbalances of the microbiota.
• To improve the quality of the meat thanks to using of products that do not leave residues.
• To compensate the withdrawal of antibiotics from 80 kg to market weight (122 kg). This management is because the farm must comply with the requirements of the importing countries, avoiding the presence of pharmacological residues in meat.

Experimental design

The productive performance of a batch of 5033 pigs was evaluated during the fattening phase (late 2020-early 2021) that received the following treatments:

Alquernat Nebsui: 0.5 kg/t from 25 kg to 100 kg.

Alquermold Natural:

• 0.5 kg/t from 25 kg to 80 kg.
• 1 kg/t from 80 kg until market weight (the dose was increased to compensate for the withdrawal of antibiotics)

The batch treated with the Alquernat Nebsui and Alquermold Natural was compared with a past cycle from the farm, raised in the same period of the previous year with 4995 animals. The parameters set by the farm’s genetic line, PIC, were also taken as a reference.

In addition to the natural solutions from Biovet S.A., this batch received:

Antibiotics for therapeutic purposes:

• Tiamulin-chlortetracycline week 11 and 12.
• Tylosin from week 12 to 15.
• Tiamulin from week 16 to 18.

Treatment was indicated to control respiratory challenges associated with influenza.

Antibiotics for growth promotion purposes:

• Bacitracin from week 10 to 14

In the case of the past cycle, it received the following treatments:

• Norfloxacin from week 10 to 12
• Enramycin: from week 11 to 21, used as a growth promoter throughout the cycle.
• Ranitidine: from week 10 to 12 (treatment for gastric ulcers)
• Organic minerals: used to improve production performance. From week 10 to 17

Results

Analyzing the results, the Alquernat Nebsui + Alquermold natural batch, compared to the past cycle, obtained a mortality of 0.77%, which represents a reduction of 40%. If we look at the total mortality, it includes the losses plus the discards, and a reduction of 25% was achieved.

Feed conversion was also favored in the Alquernat Nebsui + Alquermold natural batch, achieving an improvement of 3.62% compared to the past cycle. The PIC genetic line indicates that the top farms in Mexico have a feed conversion of 2.44 at day 162, the Alquernat Nebsui + Alquermold natural batch obtained 2.39 at day 163, representing 2.09% less.

Conclusions

Consumption trends, added to the requirements imposed by the main pork importing countries, limit the use of antibiotics, which is something positive to reduce bacterial resistance.

In the presented trial, it was possible to corroborate that there are natural additives capable of reducing the use of antibiotics and that, at the same time, can improve the productive parameters.

Regarding the PIC parameters (top farms in Mexico), the Alquernat Nebsui + Alquermold Natural batch, obtained an improvement of the FCR of -2.09%, the mortality was improved by 66% and the weight on day 164 was improved by 5,33%.

Regarding the past cycle, the combined use of Alquernat Nebsui + Alquermold Natural obtained an excellent productive performance. While the performance was improved, it was possible to reduce the mortality rate by 40%, the FCR improved by -3.62%. According to these results, for every 1000 kg of pig produced we would achieve a saving of 98 kg of feed in the fattening phase.

The use of these products improves sustainability, in addition, they do not leave residues in meat, and they do not generate bacterial resistance.

Alquermold Natural and Alquernat Nebsui are products developed and marketed by Biovet S.A

Bibliography:

• Borrell, Use of pronutrients of plant origin in veterinary medicine, Royal Academy of Veterinary Sciences (RACVE), available at: http://www.racve.es/publicaciones/uso-de-pronutrientes-de-origen-natural-en- vet/
• Pié, D. Diez, G. Bertsch, 2021, Use of natural preservatives and intestinal conditioning pronutrients in replacement of antibiotics in fattening pigs, International Biovet Symposium.
• Diego Alejandro Medina-Morales, Manuel Enrique Machado-Duque, Jorge E. Machado-Alba, Antibiotic resistance, a global crisis. Available in: Risaralda Medical Journal vol. twenty-one.
• Sandra Ujueta Rodríguez, Alejandra Araque Marín. Detection of antimicrobial residues in muscle, liver and kidney of pigs sold in Bogotá, Colombia. Available at: http://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/rudca/v19n2/v19n2a14.pdf
• Analysis of the swine industry in Latin America, 2019. Available at: https://latam.pic.com/resources/informacion-de-mercados/