Butyrate: delivering intestinal support where piglets need it most

Weaning is one of the most critical periods in a piglet’s life. Stress, reduced feed intake and abrupt dietary changes can damage intestinal villi and compromise intestinal barrier function. Poor digestion also leads to an increased amount of undigested nutrients available to intestinal bacteria, creating conditions that can favour bacterial overgrowth, including E. coli, and contribute to post-weaning diarrhoea

Butyrate can play an important role in supporting the intestine through this challenging period. It provides energy to intestinal epithelial cells, supports tight junction formation, and helps maintain intestinal barrier integrity and recovery. These functions are particularly relevant after weaning, when maintaining an effective intestinal barrier and efficient nutrient absorption are essential to reducing the factors that predispose piglets to diarrhoea.

However, providing butyrate alone is not enough. Where it is released really matters. Unprotected butyric acid can be rapidly absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract, thereby limiting its availability further along the intestine. Specific encapsulation that enables a more progressive delivery of butyrate towards distal intestinal regions is key.

This is where the proprietary encapsulation technology in ButiPEARL™ provides exclusive value. Its encapsulation technology supports gastric bypass and sustained butyrate release along the small intestine, supplying intestinal epithelial cells with a source of energy where support is needed.

In a study carried out in piglets during the post-weaning period, ButiPEARL™ increased ADG during the first week from 192 to 235 g/day (+22%) and improved FCR from 1.47 to 1.28 (+13%) (P<0.05), Figure 1.

Figure 1: Average daily gain (ADG) during the 1^st week post weaning. Different superscripts (a, b) indicate p<0.01

By combining the benefits of butyrate with targeted intestinal delivery, butyrate must be a part of a nutritional strategy to support intestinal integrity and help piglets through the most challenging period of their lives, weaning and also the point of greatest susceptibility to post-weaning diarrhoea.