Impact of dietary Laminaria digitata with alginate lyase or carbohydrase mixture on nutrient digestibility and gut health of weaned piglets
D.M. Ribeiro,
D. Luise,
M. Costa,
D.F.P. Carvalho,
C.F. Martins,
F. Correa,
M. Pinho,
A. Mirzapour-Kouhdasht,
M. Garcia-Vaquero,
M.P. Mourato,
P. Trevisi,
A.M. de Almeida,
J.P.B. Freire,
J.A.M. Prates
Affiliations
D.M. Ribeiro
LEAF - Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
D. Luise
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 46, Bologna, Italy
M. Costa
CIISA - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
D.F.P. Carvalho
LEAF - Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
C.F. Martins
LEAF - Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal; CIISA - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
F. Correa
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 46, Bologna, Italy
M. Pinho
CIISA - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
A. Mirzapour-Kouhdasht
School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
M. Garcia-Vaquero
School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
M.P. Mourato
LEAF - Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
P. Trevisi
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 46, Bologna, Italy
A.M. de Almeida
LEAF - Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
J.P.B. Freire
LEAF - Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
J.A.M. Prates
CIISA - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Corresponding author.
Laminaria digitata is a brown seaweed rich in prebiotic polysaccharides, mainly laminarin, but its alginate-rich cell wall could compromise nutrient access. Carbohydrase supplementation, such as individual alginate lyase and carbohydrases mixture (Rovabio® Excel AP), could enhance nutrient digestibility and prebiotic potential. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of these enzymes on nutrient digestibility and gut health of weaned piglets fed with 10% L. digitata. Diets did not affect growth performance (P > 0.05). The majority of the feed fractions had similar digestibility across all diets, but the supplementation of alginate lyase increased hemicellulose digestibility by 3.3% compared to the control group (P = 0.047). Additionally, we observed that algal zinc was more readily available compared to the control group, even without enzymatic supplementation (P < 0.001). However, the increased digestibility of some minerals, such as potassium, raises concerns about potential mineral imbalance. Seaweed groups had a higher abundance of beneficial bacteria in colon contents, such as Prevotella, Oscillospira and Catenisphaera. Furthermore, the addition of alginate lyase led to a lower pH in the colon (P < 0.001) and caecum (P < 0.001) of piglets, which is possibly a result of released fermentable laminarin, and is consistent with the higher proportion of butyric acid found in these intestinal compartments. L. digitata is a putative supplement to enhance piglet gut health due to its prebiotic polysaccharides. Alginate lyase supplementation further improves nutrient digestibility and prebiotic potential. These results suggest the potential use of L. digitata and these enzymatic supplements in commercial piglet-feeding practices.
