Comparative effects of spray-dried porcine plasma and pharmacological doses of zinc oxide in creep and pre-starter diets on piglets performance, plasma metabolites, gut health and microbiota according to pre-weaning eating status

The current study was conducted to compare SDPP (5%), ZnO (0.3 %) versus a control diet. In addition, piglets were classified as creep-feed eaters and non-eaters before weaning in order the assess the importance of pre-weaning feed intake. We evaluated performance, intestinal permeability, bile and plasma biomarkers, plasma metabolomics, and jejunal/cecal microbiota through 14 d PW, hypothesizing that SDPP would facilitate the initiation to creep-feed intake, while both SDPP and ZnO would enhance growth performance, and preserve gut barrier integrity through different modes of action.