Metabolic effects of a high level of dietary zinc in piglet diets to induce immune competence

There is increasing consumer pressure to reduce the use of therapeutic antibiotics in animal production. Solutions to this challenge require a multi-targeted approach, including use of particular functional ingredients, such as pre- and probiotics that are not only used to boost the growth and productivity but also to influence the development of immune competence and support responsiveness of the immune system at later age. In this context there is a large interest in the development and evaluation of nutritional interventions during early life stages in farm animal species. However, apart from effects on animal growth and productivity, there is lack of knowledge in livestock on ways to modify development of immune competence by nutritional manipulation. Thus an associated project is being conducted with the objective to evaluate effects of a “model intervention” in piglets to modify development of immune competence. The associated project investigates the effects of provision of diet with a high concentration of zinc (2790 mg/kg) over different time periods in post-weaned piglets as a “model intervention” for manipulation of immune competence, compared to a reference treatment, in which the animals are fed a diet with a basal level of zinc. The objective of the associated project is to investigate the effects of high concentration of zinc on functional and metabolic changes, including processes related to digestive functions of the gut, its integrity and barrier function, and on immunological processes as effected by the nutritional manipulation. In the associated project we already studied the effects of high concentration of zinc on growth performance, on composition and diversity of the microbiota in the gut, on genome-wide gene expression in intestinal tissue, and on several immune markers in blood. In this proposal we apply for funds to provide us with expertise and access to facilities in order to get a global view of the metabolic changes as induced by the high concentration of zinc by analyzing a range of metabolites in blood.