The inclusion of a probiotic live yeast in pig diets can shorten the fattening period and improve feed conversion ratio, according to results from a recent trial.

Hannah Elliott, monogastric technical manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, says the year-long trial was carried out across a total of 27,000 pigs in 66 batches where 32 batches were supplemented with the probiotic live yeast, LEVUCELL SB (Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079).

“By incorporating Levucell SB into pig diets we get better fibre digestion; this is because the live yeast increases bacterial fibre degradation and therefore production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) which result in more energy for the pig,” she said.

“And by replacing some of the raw material energy contribution cost with Levucell SB, results can be gained at no extra cost.”

The trial found that including Levucell SB with an energy valorisation of 1.3%, allowed pigs to reach fattening weight three days sooner.

“The pigs fed Levucell SB also benefitted from a better feed conversion ratio (FCR) and an improvement in average daily weight gain (ADG),” she added.

FCR was reduced by an average of 2% in the experimental group and ADG increased by 2.6%, demonstrating that the pigs were more efficient at turning feed into body mass with the probiotic yeast.

Alongside these results, an improvement in carcass quality was also reported, with pigs supplemented with Levucell SB having better lean meat composition compared to the control group.

Ms Elliott said Levucell SB was selected due to its ability to survive in more acidic environments with a thicker cell wall than S. cerevisiae strains, making it more suitable for use in monogastric diets.

“Its superior ability to scavenge oxygen within the gut, stimulate fibrobacteres populations (patent pending) for improved SCFA production and produce metabolites such as acetate/ anti-toxin molecules, means Levucell SB can help reinforce gut efficiency,” she explained.