Feeding the Future: How Gut Health, Organic Acids, and Fiber Shape Piglet Growth

This episode of Coffee in the Barn brings together global researchers to explore one central question: How can we feed piglets better for long-term health and performance?

Recorded live at DPP, we dive deep into gut health, appetite challenges, and nutrient strategies that matter most in early piglet development.

🔬 Lluís Fabà shares new findings on the gut-brain axis and appetite loss post-weaning.
🥣 Dr. Michael Wellington explains how fiber increases threonine demand and why formulation needs to adapt.
💧 Karolina Augusto discusses the real-world impact of organic acid blends in nursery piglets’ water.
🧪 Sandra van Kuijk introduces enniatins—an emerging, unregulated mycotoxin affecting feed intake and gut integrity.

Whether you're a swine nutritionist, vet, or feed additive formulator, this episode unpacks data-backed insights that could transform your wean-to-finish results.

You’ll hear about:
 ✔️ How gut-brain axis disruptions affect appetite post-weaning (Lluís Fabà)
 ✔️ Why more fiber means higher threonine needs (Michael Wellington)
 ✔️ The blended power of organic acids in nursery water (Karolina Augusto)
 ✔️ An emerging mycotoxin that’s already everywhere—and reducing intake (Sandra van Kuijk)

It’s science, it’s strategy, and it’s the kind of conversation that only happens in the barn.

📬 Connect with the Guests:
 Michael Wellington – michael.wellington@trouwnutrition.com | LinkedIn
Karolina Augusto – karolina.augusto@selko.com | LinkedIn
Sandra van Kuijk – sandra.van.kuijk@trouwnutrition.com | LinkedIn
Lluís Fabà – LinkedIn

☕ So grab your coffee, settle in, and let’s get growing—one piglet at a time.

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Transcript

0:00:00
(Chantel P.)
Welcome, it's really nice to meet you and to have you here for our listeners and our audience. Could you just introduce yourself and your background and what you're here for today?

0:00:20
(Sandra)
My name is Sandra Bouguere. I work at at Arctotrition since 2016. I started there immediately after my PhD. And I'm working as a validation researcher, which means that I test products already on the market, focus on feed additives, and I'm responsible to put this in Europe.

0:00:40
(Chantel P.)
What do you see as the biggest gap or the biggest issue in products? So, you're here at DPP looking into research. What do you think is the biggest gap in all the products that you're seeing? Are you seeing the same issues as three of these products? Are they performing equally?

0:01:00
(Sandra)
There are so many different products. I'm really thinking how to answer this because it's a variety of products. You can group them together. Yes, also I think your main question would be if you were looking at products, what is your problem? What are you trying to solve? And for every problem, there is a different solution. There's not a solution for everything yet. We'd be out of a job if there was a solution for everything yet. But it's...

0:01:25
(Chantel P.)
We'd be out of a job if there was a solution for everything.

0:01:27
(Sandra)
Yes, indeed. And that's what we're all working on. And I think that's why we're here, to learn more about the problems, but also possible solutions.

0:01:36
(Chantel P.)
Well, could you share a little bit about, I hear you're doing a poster. Could you share a little bit of information?

0:01:42
(Sandra)
I'm having, I'm presenting a poster on mycotoxins in pigs. So, we tested eniatins, this is an emerging mycotoxin. It's not yet regulated, so there's not a lot of research done, but it can be there in large amounts, although there is no regulation. And what we saw is in newborn piglets, so in creep feed we already gave the amniotins and we see a drop in feed intake. And with this drop of feed intake we see a drop of performance and this continues through

0:02:12
(Sandra)
after weaning until the end of the nursery. And we also tested in the same study a mycotoxin binder of our own and we saw that it reduces the negative effects of AMNT.

0:02:27
(Casey Bradley)
Do you think we need to stop talking about binding and more about mycotoxin mitigation

0:02:33
(Casey Bradley)
and kind of describe the ideal, I hate the word binder, so mycotoxin mitigation strategy?

0:02:41
(Sandra)
I agree, because binding is mainly for aflatoxin and the other mycotoxins need more than binding. I agree, yes.

0:02:49
(Chantel P.)
Well, why do you think that this new mycotoxin has come about? Have we always known about it? It's the first time I'm hearing about it. So has it always been known or is it something we've discovered? Of course, the nature is fascinating.

0:03:07
(Sandra)
So it has been there for probably many, many years. And the reason I think that there's not a lot of research done on it, it's not regulated. It's maybe not the first one to cause major problems. So alpha toxin, for example, causes problems in humans if it's transferred through the animal into human food. And for any other things, there is less known.

0:03:29
(Sandra)
Maybe it's less known indeed, but it has been there. It's there for probably ages already.

0:03:36
(Chantel P.)
Do you think it's becoming more prevalent in the diets that we're feeding now?

0:03:44
(Sandra)
It's very prevalent.

0:03:45
(Sandra)
So many feeds, containers, yes, it's all over the world. So it's not just, so I'm working for you, but it's all over the world.

0:03:56
(Chantel P.)
All right, and is there a way that we could maybe mitigate

0:04:01
(Chantel P.)
the way that we're growing the food,

0:04:03
(Chantel P.)
processing the food, feeding the food, or is it just there and we need to manage it?

0:04:09
(Sandra)
Of course, it always starts with reducing fungal contaminations already in the field. So it starts with the plants and fungus. So it's way back and once it's there, it can still happen to you.

0:04:23
(Sandra)
It can happen on the field, it can happen during storage,

0:04:26
(Sandra)
products can be there, mycotoxins can be produced. So it should be, the whole chain should be controlled, ideally. So if you start from the beginning, but you still have a risk that it's there in your feet and there in the communication products, can play a role.

0:04:41
(Chantel P.)
That's fascinating. It's a chain where everybody has to work together. Trust everybody's done their job correctly. We're here at DPP and I want to know is there an effect of

0:04:56
(Chantel P.)
this mycotoxin, beyond you mentioned reducing feed intake in piglets, is there an effect physiologically on these pigs?

0:05:04
(Sandra)
We tested the gut leakage. We didn't see any significant results, but we see an indication that anyantin increases leakage, so it increases permeability of the gut. But we need more research on that. At this moment, and I cannot present that yet, but we are running analysis to see how many anyantins are taken up by the animal and in blood. And we are testing biomarkers to see what else it does in the animal. But

0:05:32
(Sandra)
yeah, it's running at this very moment, so I cannot.

0:05:36
(Chantel P.)
All of this is really exciting, being here at DPP, there's so many talks. Is there one that you're specifically looking forward to that could maybe add to your new research?

0:05:44
(Chantel P.)
Or is there anyone that you're specifically looking forward to that could maybe add to your new research or is there any one that you're specifically looking forward to?

0:05:49
(Sandra)
More for a general idea, so not one specific talk, but an overview of talks to see what

0:05:54
(Sandra)
problems people encounter and what the industry encounters, how the industry is evolving. Not only the big industry, but all the feed industry.

0:06:05
(Sandra)
The feed industry is evolving, yeah.

0:06:07
(Sandra)
The complete chain again, I think that's important. So it's more a general idea on gut health, so I would be very interested to learn more about that.

0:06:15
(Chantel P.)
Yeah, it's very interesting you speak about the feed industry evolving as well. I mean, the world industry is evolving and it just now. So it's really cool to have you here. I really appreciate your time. When is your press session?

0:06:32
(Sandra)
It's tomorrow during lunchtime. So tomorrow Wednesday.

0:06:36
(Sandra)
Post of 15.

0:06:37
(Chantel P.)
And how would people who are not here, can we reach you if they have any questions?

0:06:43
(Sandra)
You can always reach me through email, LinkedIn. We are planning on publishing this, but that's the future still. Still a work in progress.

0:06:52
(Chantel P.)
OK, well, it's been really great to speak with you.

0:06:54
(Chantel P.)
I learned something new.

0:06:56
(Chantel P.)
I don't know about mycotoxins.

0:06:57
(Chantel P.)
So fantastic.

0:06:59
(Sandra)
Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me.

0:07:01
(Chantel P.)
Thank you. Thanks.





0:00:00
(Chantel P.)
Thank you for joining us today. We're really excited to speak with you. Could you introduce yourself to our audience?

0:00:11
(Michael W.)
Well, my name is Michael Wellington and I'm a researcher with the trial nutrition and I also hold a high-ranking position at the University of Saskatchewan. I joined Trial in January of 2021 and I've been working mostly on piglets and sometimes on goldfish. My working relates largely to quantitative nutrition.

0:00:34
(Chantel P.)
My background is also quantitative nutrition, being with stimulation models and incorporating feed intake in environments and all that stuff. So we have that in common. But knowing the topic of your poster, the interaction between spironine and amino acid and fiber, my knowledge on that is very limited. So could you share a little bit about that without giving too much away?

0:01:02
(Chantel P.)
I'm really interested to hear about that.

0:01:03
(Michael W.)
Well, the hypothesis is that fiber plays a significant role in gut modulation, and the role it plays has to do with the different fractions of fiber. So you have the soluble type of fiber, the insoluble type of fiber, and then also different fractions

0:01:21
(Michael W.)
that play separate roles in the gut. Now what we know is that as we increase fiber in the diet, we begin to see changes in terms of animal performance. Sometimes it's negative, sometimes it's positive, depending on the type of fiber that you feed.

0:01:36
(Chantel P.)
I was just about to say the type of fiber.

0:01:38
(Michael W.)
The type of fiber is key because the properties of each fiber are what are capacity, and it also affects nutrient absorption. And therefore, you will see that results are always not consistent with fiber. But one of the key things that we've seen in the last few years is the fact that fiber drives increase of improvement

0:01:57
(Michael W.)
in gut development. And the reason is because of its relationship with misintegration. So as you feed high fiber diets, you indirectly have increasing mucus secretion in the gut. And mucus secretion is an important part of the gut

0:02:14
(Michael W.)
trying to protect itself from the aggressiveness of fiber and all that. And one key component of muci is threonine. So what it means indirectly is as you are increasing your fiber in the diet more of your dietary threonine is ending up in muci secretion

0:02:33
(Chantel P.)
so it's increasing requirement

0:02:35
(Michael W.)
exactly, so indirectly we are increasing the requirement of threonine and what we find is that this relationship has not been really studied a lot. And so as we go along, we just keep requirement levels of threonine at the same level. We've been asking for threonine for so many years. But our diets are increasingly becoming more of fibers, right? So we need to look at the relationship

0:02:59
(Michael W.)
so that we can be able to use quantitative methods to adjust the ratios of how much fiber and how much nutrients in the diet so we can have a good balance. So you mentioned the different types of fiber,

0:03:10
(Chantel P.)
are you just looking at the different types of fiber or are you looking at different types of fiber containing ingredients as well? Is that the next steps? Am I jumping ahead? No, that's

0:03:21
(Michael W.)
actually a difficult question because you know when you work in a global environment with different kinds of sources of ingredients for different parts of the world, when you go into ingredients then it becomes difficult for you to have quantitative solutions. But then all ingredients will have one or two or three different types of fibre properties.

0:03:42
(Chantel P.)
And even those ingredients themselves, within that ingredient difference.

0:03:47
(Michael W.)
Exactly, so probably if you look at maybe barley, in Europe, barley in Canada, they will have more fermentable, more soluble type of fiber as compared to maybe sugar, sugar bean pulp which is also highly soluble. So different types of ingredients will have different composition of fiber types. And therefore, the focus is more looking at the nutrients rather than the ingredients. And that makes the quantitation quite straightforward

0:04:17
(Michael W.)
for application in different parts of the world. So that's the focus for now, but I agree that the ingredients also play a significant role in doing that.

0:04:26
(Casey Bradley)
Being the enzyme person, how does enzymes impact

0:04:31
(Casey Bradley)
or interplay with the fiber and 3-in-1 requirements?

0:04:35
(Michael W.)
That's a good question. So when you talk about enzymes, and you talk about carbohydrates, right, that's mainly when those break down fibers. When you look at literature consistently, you see the performance of hydrates is really consistent. But for carbohydrates, it's not really consistent because some of them work on different properties.

0:04:57
(Michael W.)
For example, we have the beta-butanes in barley, in some parts of wheat, which works very well with glutamic acid. Those ones are able to help with the digestion and absorption process of high-fiber diets. But we still have more work to do with the enzyme. I'm not an enzyme expert, but what I see in the literature is the inconsistency that happens. So what we are trying to do to solve that is to keep the kinetics of the fibre digestion because different fibres will be absorbed or fermented at different rates in the gut.

0:05:35
(Michael W.)
So learning about the kinetics of different fibre sources helps to address some of the issues that we could also address with the double hydrate system, which is not really a constant at the moment.

0:05:46
(Chantel P.)
Yeah, all this talk about fiber, gut health, and all that being here at DPP, I feel like there's so many talks about those topics. What talk are you most looking forward to? Either one you've listened to today or tomorrow, the next day. Is there any specific?

0:06:03
(Michael W.)
Yeah, I think the one I listened to today or tomorrow, next day? Is there any specific?

0:06:05
(Michael W.)
Yeah, I think the one I listened to today was in the sessions of the WANEC. They had a talk from a professor from UC Davis talking about how probiotics, prebiotics and other direct sperm microbials are able to impact heart health. And all those things, all those components also have some properties that is shared by the fibers. You know, structured fatty acids, also pre-labeled. But I'm really looking forward to listening to the talk of Sophia Lepis from the

0:06:35
(Michael W.)
Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and she will be speaking, and Kim will speak on fiber kinetics. And that's really important because then we have more understanding of how fibre breakdown is important and then helps to guide at what point in the life of the piglet or in the pig can we feed them the different types of fibre. So I'm looking forward to that.

0:06:56
(Chantel P.)
Is your work specifically focused on piglets you say?

0:06:59
(Michael W.)
Yes, so my development now is focused largely on piglets because I did my PhD in similar topic, in fibre and threading, but also with this new strategy, but mainly in growing pigs. So now we are applying that in the piglets because that is where the catapultment actually begins. So it's important that we relate it back to the piglets and see how we can improve catapultment with the inclusion of fibre, but also adjusting for the three levels in the diet. I think you've really shown how everything

0:07:29
(Chantel P.)
is so interconnected and that always fascinates me and that's what I feel is the purpose of me being a scientist, it's figuring out those connections. So it's really great to speak to you but could you share with the people that are here where and what time they could come see you and your poster?

0:07:46
(Michael W.)
So the poster session is on Wednesday at I believe at 2pm from between 1pm and 1.20pm for the lunch break and we will be in your room and across the lunchroom I guess. So you can find me there, but also you can reach out to me through my email which I will be sure to publish and also LinkedIn.

0:08:07
(Chantel P.)
That's great, it's been really nice to speak to you. Something that I've never thought about, the effect of viral on training.

0:08:15
(Michael W.)
Yeah, it's been very interesting. Really, thank you so much. Really, thank you so much.

0:08:19
(Casey Bradley)
Thank you.



0:00:00
(Chantel P.)
Well, thank you for joining us here at DFUE today. I'm really excited to have you here. Could you introduce yourself to our audience?

0:00:15
(Karolina)
I'm Carolina, also known as Gusto. I'm from Brazil. I'm in travel tuition for almost 10 years.

0:00:24
(Karolina)
Previously, I worked for some different companies in Brazil. I focused on manure treatment and management in the beginning of my career, and then I came back to nutrition. And nowadays, I work as a validation researcher for Latin, doing trials in partnership with different universities around Latin, I mean Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, and some different

0:00:58
(Karolina)
countries, Chile as well, focus on feeding additives.

0:01:04
(Chantel P.)
Okay. Well, I'm really glad that you came back, you said you came back to nutrition, I came back to nutrition,

0:01:09
(Chantel P.)
very exciting, being a nutritionist here at Animistic. I know that you have a poster on organic acids, is it organic acids specifically?

0:01:18
(Karolina)
Yes, our study focuses on evaluation of a blend of different organic acids in nursery piglets. This stage of the life of the piglets, you know, is a phase. So how this blend of organic acids could help on the health and directly and the performance of piglets when we supply them into the water.

0:01:59
(Chantel P.)
Okay, so you're supplying them to the water. That's very interesting. So I'm glad you said blend organic acids. People think it's just one.

0:02:06
(Chantel P.)
That's the main one, or any food one. As a nutritionist, we supply multiple for different reasons. We go through the feed, so through the water. Is it more of an effect on mitigating microbes in the gut?

0:02:24
(Chantel P.)
Is it through gut development? Being through the water, is it an acidifier? What is the purpose of being through the water?

0:02:30
(Karolina)
The purpose of this blend of organic acids, a different short and medium fatty acids combination, is to different actions into the digestive tract, making the digestive

0:02:49
(Karolina)
tract more healthier, then you have better performance. So acidifier is the digestive tract is key to... It sounds like it's a combination of improved nutrient absorption as well as acidifying the gut. And to reduce the microbial load. Exactly. It sounds like it does multiple things.

0:03:18
(Chantel P.)
That's why we have a blend, right? They do different things at different points of the gut.

0:03:22
(Chantel P.)
That's really interesting.

0:03:24
(Karolina)
Could you share a little bit of information about your cluster, about these organic acids? Yeah, in this work specifically, we try to test this blend of organic acids in the water of nursery piglets and evaluate feed consumption if increasing the blend of organic acids into the water, it would increase the feed intake as well, and indeed increased. So we had this response. In this specific study, we didn't have significant differences in other performance parameters, but I consider this an important finding because we followed the same animals without treatment, dead treatments, until the finishing and the slaughtering.

0:04:28
(Karolina)
We can see good results, a compensatory. It continues through this really. Yeah, grow in that part, in the finish part. Yeah, it's not just once all and it's done. It's a long-term effect.

0:04:43
(Karolina)
Long-term effect.

0:04:44
(Karolina)
Compensated. Yes,term effect. Long-term effect. Yes. Carryover effect. Yeah. And this is really important for us in Latin because as we have a global product as this Fiddy Additive and many other kind of Fiddy Additives, Talkstution has globally, then we can prove to our customers and to our internal team

0:05:12
(Karolina)
how those global affiliatives can act in our reality, our facilities, our stress, challenge, diets, challenge diets. I think that's so important what you're saying because there's so many key diets out there, a lot of them seem very similar, some of them work, some of them don't it seems, but it's sort of based on that specific environment. In my research, in my master's studies, I was doing simulation modeling and it wouldn't

0:05:47
(Karolina)
work for every single farm, every single environment. So what I also want to add on to that is what differentiates one organic acid from another? Why is one maybe better than the other in that specific environment? The quality of the production of the product is ultimately important to guarantee the quality, the efficiency of the product, the choosing of ingredients for the organic acids as well is ultimately important. And so this is why we have the drug tricks. So we have many, a huge effort to guarantee

0:06:33
(Karolina)
the quality of our products.

0:06:36
(Chantel P.)
Focusing on quality and obviously how it's delivered too,

0:06:40
(Chantel P.)
right?

0:06:40
(Karolina)
Yeah, and that's why we have not only a strong innovation department with many researchers working there to develop new products and to investigate the effects of those products and solutions,

0:06:58
(Karolina)
let me say, not only products but combination, solution, prevent disease or, not disease, but pains, customer pains,

0:07:10
(Karolina)
let me say, but also to guarantee the results in the farm.

0:07:19
(Chantel P.)
Yeah, it sounds like really important research, really applicable research,

0:07:23
(Chantel P.)
something that we really need for sustainable pork production, right? Instead of just throwing all these feed out at the pigs and hoping something sticks, having something that we know works. And that's why we have you as a researcher for this.

0:07:38
(Casey Bradley)
What is the most important must have acid part of an acidification or bacterial control program for nursery pigs?

0:07:51
(Karolina)
Great question. My personal opinion, my professional opinion is the blend of organic acids is the key, is the answer. So in my experience over this past 10 years doing trials with those products I see there is no one organic acid as a solution. So

0:08:18
(Karolina)
the combination is the key. Bringing them together into only one product, so it's the key.

0:08:29
(Chantel P.)
For people who are here in DPP, where can they see or find your work? This poster will be in the poster centre, place 96, and I will be there in front.

0:08:45
(Karolina)
They can reach out to me on LinkedIn or email.

0:08:50
(Chantel P.)
Is the poster chosen tomorrow?

0:08:53
(Karolina)
Yes.

0:08:54
(Chantel P.)
Okay, great. Well, we will put your email and LinkedIn contact for our audience who are not here to speak to you. I'm sure you'll have some people reaching out. I would love to discuss with you further as well. But really great to have you speak with me

0:09:11
(Chantel P.)
and really excited to see the poster.

0:09:12
(Karolina)
Thank you so much.

0:09:13
(Chantel P.)
It was great to see you. It was great to see you.

0:09:14
(Karolina)
Thank you.


0:00:00
(Casey Bradley)
Well, hello and welcome to DPP 2025 in the beautiful but not sunny Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Here we have our guest from NUTRECO.

0:00:22
(Casey Bradley)
Luis, can you introduce yourself and your role with Nutreco?

0:00:26
(Lluis F.)
Sure, I'm a researcher. I'm a veterinarian by training, but I've been doing research since I finished my PhD. That was six years ago and I joined Tri Nutrition to work on the piglet. From anything related to diseases and nutrition intervention to nowadays something more related to physiology, appetite regulation

0:00:46
(Lluis F.)
and so on.

0:00:47
(Chantel P.)
So it's definitely evolved but it's all connected. Yeah. That's what I always say with my history as well.

0:00:54
(Lluis F.)
And sometimes, you know, in these companies you can have more feed additive type of development or more nutrition quantitative physiology. So we have a big room for for each of us and my veterinarian background definitely brings in that flexibility I think.

0:01:09
(Casey Bradley)
So obviously you're a veterinarian that works with a lot of nutritionists. Is there ever a fight? Oh there are. Yeah. Especially on the

0:01:19
(Lluis F.)
quantitative side and the cost related and when you have to make estimates on what is the cost of a disease or a specific condition. I would say veterinarian is on the preventive side a bit more generous than a nutritionist, but always try to cost

0:01:35
(Chantel P.)
back short. Well that's as a fee cost is 70% of the cost of producing an animal

0:01:41
(Lluis F.)
right? So nutritionists have a lot of pressure. And it's a lot easier to know when you needed something, when it already happened, right? So in that way, veterinarians blame nutritionists, and nutritionists blame veterinarians. And idea is the work of everyone, right?

0:02:00
(Chantel P.)
Well, I'm Chantelle Peenénicott, and I'm currently the nutritionist and R&D manager with Casey at Animistic. My background is in swine nutrition and simulation modeling back in South Africa. That's where I did my Master's and managed the research unit back there. I came over here and worked at the University of Arkansas in animal welfare and behavior

0:02:24
(Chantel P.)
because I believe that everything is connected like you were saying. So ultimately I've gone back to nutrition, that's my passion, pigs are my passion, so really excited to be here. 

0:02:38
(Casey Bradley)
So Nutreco does a lot of modeling, how are you guys integrating disease in some of your modeling programs and efforts? I wouldn't say it's an easy job to do.

0:02:48
(Lluis F.)
We gather a lot of experience across the globe and there are, I think, different views to put together in a model and yeah, that's how we do it, by gathering data from validation trials across different countries, different conditions and then you apply it in a very complex, detailed way.

0:03:13
(Chantel P.)
Our model is not an easy one, but that allows to provide very detailed outcome and very precise one too.

0:03:20
(Chantel P.)
I'm also going to go off script and ask a question about time management. You're saying that it's detail orientated and you validate it with real-time data, but by the time that you're actually using those models, is it still valid? What is the time delay?

0:03:36
(Chantel P.)
That's a difficult one.

0:03:41
(Lluis F.)
I would say there's also a time difference between the genetics and the field for instance, right? Or a new strain of PRS running around. So there will be this always this gold standard potential you can get and then there is your modeling and you will be adjusting depending on the conditions. You can be more strict, less strict and then that flexibility is given to the nutritionist. You have different scenarios in the model you can choose. strict, less strict, and then that flexibility is given to the nutritionist. You have different scenarios in the model you can choose.

0:04:08
(Casey Bradley)
Well, obviously we're all here at Digestive Pig Physiology, it doesn't have a veterinarian in the title or a nutritionist. What is one of the key things you're looking forward to learn or one of the keynote speakers that you're looking forward to listening to?

0:04:23
(Lluis F.)
Good question. I'm looking for the in-between lines that will be the feed additives of the future. I believe that's where we should be, advancing with the new knowledge on animal physiology. I think feed additives have been a bit stuck on mode of actions, and we need to make a next step on the new technologies that

0:04:44
(Lluis F.)
have advanced on diagnostic and research and understanding from genetics to genes, microbial, microbiota, metabolites, so on. So that's where I want, I really hope to learn more and I'm looking forward to listen to Wang from Hunan University from China. I think they're bringing in a new insight on the appetite regulation, feed intake and physiology.

0:05:10
(Lluis F.)
That's where I'm at.

0:05:11
(Casey Bradley)
Yeah, I don't know how they can be getting that one. It's such an interesting... What do you think is the number one challenge with appetite? Let's talk about the early womb pig with our modern genetics, at least we struggle in them on feed. Yeah. What are some things to consider in that as we look at feed additive strategies that we have today?

0:05:29
(Lluis F.)
I think you'll have to come to my talk for that.

0:05:32
(Casey Bradley)
That's a great answer.

0:05:35
(Lluis F.)
Yeah.

0:05:36
(Lluis F.)
The simple answer will be the lack of knowledge nowadays to appetite regulation. I've been doing my homework trying to understand appetite in general, starting reading from humans with our behavioral problems around food, then you go to animal models, and then you have to put the weaning event in the middle, which is nothing that happens anywhere else with a lot of stress, with a lot of environmental stress, so on. So that's why in my case, for instance, we decided to start with transcriptomics and a couple of key tissues because I think you first need to start general. Otherwise, yeah,

0:06:10
(Lluis F.)
there are 15 or 20 good hypotheses to spend decades on research. And maybe, yeah, we have to use the power of new technologies and even AI to narrow down and diagnose the problem. Again, forget a bit what we know and try to learn again. Sounds like we're gonna have to come to

0:06:31
(Casey Bradley)
you at all. Definitely. I guess you also open the door to say what is the major gap that we need to fill to have that next generation of data chips instead of what we see a lot of Me Too type of products coming out today.

0:06:48
(Lluis F.)
Yeah, first diagnose problem I think and that can help individual feed intake post weaning. So that's why we try and we made efforts and investments on that. And I think the key will be feed additives that work closer to the pharma, or at least that they are understood closer to the pharma. And by that I mean the kinetics on the absorption, the elimination, they should go, they should cross, should be absorbed, we need to know how they metabolize, how they are excreted,

0:07:21
(Lluis F.)
how do they target specific tissues, specific cells outside the gut or in the gut. I think that's the line which we should try to be talking about.

0:07:29
(Casey Bradley)
Yeah.

0:07:30
(Chantel P.)
Well, without giving too much away, we'd be really interested to know, for people that aren't here to listen to your talk, what is the key takeaways from your talk about the importance of appetite, changing genetics, and can you share with our listeners a little bit about that?

0:07:50
(Lluis F.)
So my work, the presentation here for this conference will be around diagnosing why some pigs are starting off well and others are not post weaning. And I think there is a big lack of knowledge around that area, especially when we look at individual feed intake and the short-term adaptation post-weaning. We've demonstrated there are clear differences on that phenotype and that has long-term consequences, but we don't know why.

0:08:21
(Lluis F.)
And when you do your homework in terms of what are potential hypotheses behind this, there's so many on the gut-brain axis. When you first start reading about gut-brain axis, you focus on humans and all the behavior problems around our food industry and food intake. Then you go to animal models, you figure out the pathways, you understand a bit more. But then you put the winning event in the middle, which comes along with a lot of stress and a big difference from one day to another about their food form and all the environmental changes.

0:08:57
(Lluis F.)
There's a lot that could go wrong and reduce appetite in this space. And the first step that I try to bring in with this research is to diagnose the problem in a different angle. So transcriptomics and a couple of organs key in the gut brain axis like hypothalamus and helium. And then from there, yeah, build up the key pathways and hypothesis that are differentiating those two

0:09:24
(Lluis F.)
populations.

0:09:25
(Chantel P.)
It sounds like understanding the mode of action is the most important and the external effects that affect that mode of action is the most important role there.

0:09:35
(Chantel P.)
Just something works and let's go with it.

0:09:37
(Chantel P.)
Yeah, exactly.

0:09:38
(Chantel P.)
Understanding the background and how it changes in different scenarios. So we really look forward to your talk. But for people who are here, when, could you tell us when your talk is?

0:09:50
(Lluis F.)
Yes, so that will be Thursday, yeah, 2.45 p.m. So I'm looking forward to talk a bit more about this for the audience. Yeah, I received feedback by Stack Overflow.

0:10:01
(Lluis F.)
And how will people reach you after DPP?

0:10:04
(Lluis F.)
I think you can find me on LinkedIn. I'm always easy and eager to have a brainstorming session about any topic related to beef and the feeding hay. And we'll be publishing some of this work.

0:10:18
(Chantel P.)
Great. Thank you for your time.

0:10:20
(Lluis F.)
Sure.

0:10:21
(Chantel P.)
Really appreciate it. It's great to meet you. Really appreciate it. It's great to meet you.

0:10:22
(Lluis F.)
Yeah, thanks.