Bioavailability of inorganic and organic sources of zinc and its interactions with lysine level in the diet of weaned piglets

• Grant number: 25/05761-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Livio Panhoza Tse
• Grantee: Juliana Carolina Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/12919-3 - Bioavailability of inorganic and organic sources of zinc and its interactions with lysine level in the diet of weaned piglets, AP.R

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of zinc (Zn) supplementation in inorganic (zinc sulfate) and organic (Zn-amino acid chelate) forms in diets of weaned piglets on zinc bioavailability, performance, diarrhea incidence (DI), diet digestibility, serum hematological, biochemical parameters and cytokines, intestinal morphometry, Zn retention rate in the liver and metacarpus, jejunal intestinal gene expression of the antioxidant system, gene expression of metallothionein in the liver, cecal microbiota, serum Zn and alkaline phosphatase and Zn in the feces (Exp. 1) and evaluate the effect of zinc sources associated with different levels of lysine inclusion in the diet (required, below and above the nutritional requirement) on performance, DI, diet digestibility, blood concentration of zinc, alkaline phosphatase and urea, Zn in the feces, liver and metacarpus, intestinal gene expression linked to the transport of amino acids and zinc and to protein metabolism and cecal microbiota (Exp. 2). For the Exp.1, 126 weaned piglets at 21 days of age which will be submitted in a randomized block design, with 7 treatments, 6 repetitions (blocks by weight) and 3 animals per experimental unit (pen). The treatments will be: Zn0 - basal diet (BD) with no supplementary zinc; ZnS50 - BD with 50mg/kg of inorganic Zn; ZnS100 - BD with 100mg/kg of inorganic Zn; ZnS150 - BD with 150mg/kg of inorganic Zn; ZnQ50 - DB with supplementation of 50mg/kg of organic Zn; ZnQ100 - DB with supplementation of 100mg/kg of organic Zn; ZnQ150 - DB with supplementation of 150mg/kg of organic Zn. Will be evaluated performance, incidence of diarrhea (during the whole experimental period), diet digestibility, amount of zinc excreted in the feces, hematological, biochemical parameters and serum cytokines, Zn and alkaline phosphatase (14th day of the experiment), intestinal morphometry, jejunal intestinal gene expression of the antioxidant system, cecal microbiota, gene expression of hepatic metallothionein, amount of zinc in the liver and metacarpus (21th day of the experiment). For the Exp.2, 126 weaned piglets at 21 days will be used, distributed in a randomized block design (weight), in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement (two sources of zinc - inorganic and organic and three levels of digestible lysine supplementation (protein ideal concept), with the inclusion level meeting the nutritional requirement, 5% below and above requirement, respectively), with 6 treatments, 7 replications and 3 animals per experimental unit (pen). The level of organic Zn supplementation will be established based on the bioavailability value in relation to the inorganic Zn found in Exp.1. The treatments will be: ZnS0 = DB with the inclusion of 150mg/kg of inorganic zinc and lysine according to the nutritional requirement; ZnS5- = DB with the inclusion of 150mg/kg of inorganic zinc and digestible lysine at 5% below the nutritional requirement; ZnS5+ = DB with the inclusion of 150mg/kg of inorganic zinc and lysine at 5% above the nutritional requirement; ZnQ0= DB with inclusion of organic zinc and lysine according to the nutritional requirement; ZnQ5- = DB with inclusion of organic Zn and lysine at 5% below the nutritional requirement; ZnQ5+= DB with inclusion of organic zinc and lysine at 5% above the nutritional requirement. Will be evaluated performance, DI during the whole experimental period (42 days) and the other variables described above will be evaluated on 28th day of the experiment.