Feed Additives and Micronutrients on Performance, Nutrient Utilization, Immunity, Oxidative Stress, and Gut Health of Pigs and Sows — 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

In modern swine production, pigs and sows are susceptible to stress, diseases, nutritional deficiency, etc. Although there are multiple factors influencing the health of sows and pigs, the feed and its nutritional composition, including the use of feed additives and micronutrients, are critical to ensuring not only growth, development, and nutrient utilization but also the immunity, antioxidant capacity, and gut health and integrity of pigs and sows. In addition, as sows are the beginning of swine production, producing piglets, reproductive performance, health, colostrum and milk quality, and gut microbiome affect the health, survival, immunity, growth, and development of their offspring.

There have been a lot of research efforts to improve not only swine productivity but also the overall health of pigs and sows. Feed additives and micronutrients such as minerals and vitamins have shown beneficial effects in improving the performance, nutrient utilization, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and gut health of pigs and sows. Traditional and novel feed additives have been used in the diets of sows and pigs for their beneficial effects, but further research is necessary to demonstrate their effectiveness and mode of action in sows and pigs so that the producers and feed industry could utilize the feed additives appropriately in the swine diets and improve the entire swine productivity and health. Although a greater amount of minerals and vitamins are often supplemented to swine diets than the normal nutrient requirement estimates, further research is required to determine the actual needs of these micronutrients to not only ensure their performance but also to meet their actual nutritional needs for their health, immunity, and antioxidant capacity, as these are also important factors affecting the nutrient requirements.

For this Special Issue, you are invited to submit either original research papers or review articles evaluating and summarizing the effects of feed additives and micronutrients on performance, nutrient utilization, immunity, oxidative stress, and gut health in pigs and sows. This Special Issue will provide all scientists and producers with the scientific literature to understand the importance of immunity, antioxidant capacity, and gut health and integrity to ensure the overall health of sows and pigs and provide information regarding the benefits and mechanisms of feed additives and micronutrients, along with how to utilize them properly in swine diets; this will help swine production and the feed industry to become sustainable.

Dr. Young-Dal Jang
Guest Editor

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