Some farmers feed their pigs with unfamiliar green fodder, but this practice can lead to serious health issues. After consuming the feed, the pigs become agitated, restless, and display unusual behavior such as walking erratically and struggling to breathe. A veterinarian has diagnosed this as food poisoning, and there are several key reasons behind it.
Firstly, when vegetables are cooked for a long time over low heat without being stirred, they can produce a dangerous substance called hydrocyanic acid. This toxin is highly harmful and can cause poisoning in pigs if ingested. It's important to avoid this by not overcooking or leaving the vegetables unattended during the cooking process.
Secondly, if green feed is left at temperatures between 40°C and 70°C overnight, the nitrates present in the plants can be converted into nitrites, which are also toxic. This transformation happens quickly under warm conditions, making it essential to store green fodder properly and not leave it out for extended periods.
To prevent these issues, it’s best to wash and chop the green feed before feeding it to the pigs. Freshly prepared feed helps preserve vital nutrients and reduces the risk of poisoning. Farmers should follow a balanced feeding strategy, using compound feed as the main source and supplementing with green fodder in small amounts throughout the day.
It's also advisable to feed the pigs in a specific order: start with the compound feed first, then introduce the green fodder. If cooking is necessary, make sure to boil the green feed thoroughly and serve it immediately. Avoid covering the pot too tightly, and stir it frequently to allow harmful substances to evaporate. These simple steps can significantly reduce the chances of pig poisoning and ensure the animals remain healthy and productive.
Clostridium Butyricum
C. butyricum, a butyrate-producing, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium, is found in a wide variety of environments, including soil, cultured milk products, and vegetables. It is also present in the human gut: it is detected in 10–20% of the adult human population and is often one of the earliest colonizers in infants. In the human gut, where it is considered a ‘symbiont (living together with the host), C. butyricum has a fermentative lifestyle and can consume undigested dietary fibers and generate short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), specifically butyrate and acetate. Butyrate is one of the dominant fermentation end-products and is produced by C. butyricum via the butyrate kinase (buk) pathway. SCFAs produced by microbial organisms in the colon are known to have myriad and important effects on host health, including modulating intestinal immune homeostasis, improving gastrointestinal barrier function, and alleviating inflammation. As such, butyrate-producing organisms like C. butyricum have become attractive candidates to test for beneficial effects in a host. Genomic analyses are increasingly identifying novel bacterial strains with health-promoting potential that are distinct from classic probiotics (Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria).
C. butyricum is a species that encompasses various known strains, some of which have genes equipping them to produce toxins. However, genomic analyses confirm that other strains do not have these genes nor other markers of pathogenesis potential, and that these nonpathogenic strains have excellent potential to benefit host health through several mechanisms. Certain strains of C. butyricum have been used as a probiotic for decades. Strain MIYAIRI 588 (or MIYARI 588; CBM 588), first isolated from the feces of a healthy human by Dr. Chikaji Miyairi in 1933, and later from soil in 1963, is a commercially-available, over-the-counter probiotic widely used in Japan, Korea, and China for the treatment of (antimicrobial-associated) diarrhea. Strain CBM 588 is also authorized under the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council as a novel food ingredient. Its widespread use is enabled by its safe, nonpathogenic and nontoxic profile: studies have shown that it is sensitive to antibiotics, devoid of pathogenic markers, and lacks clostridial toxin genes.
butyrate, immunity, intestinal barrier, inflammation
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