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Acidification of weaner pig diets: A review
Author(s) -
Ravindran V,
Kornegay E T
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740620402
Subject(s) - biology , zoology , food science
Abstract The potential of diet acidification to overcome the digestive insufficiency and postweaning lag in early weaned pigs is examined in the review. A survey of published data on various types of acidifiers reveal considerable variation in response to acidification of weaner diets. Several reasons may be proposed to explain the inconsistencies in response, these include differences in diet type, age of pigs, type and level of acidifier, and existing performance levels. Reducing the gastric pH does not appear to be the primary effect of acidifiers. Acidification, however, consistently suppressed pathogenic coliforms in the gastrointestinal tract. Future developments in the use of acidifiers would be intrinsically linked to the understanding of their mode(s) of action in the animal.