Researchers Closing on Natural Antibiotic Alternative in Pigs

(WEST LAFAYETTE, IN) Agricultural scientists are studying a natural antimicrobial enzyme as a possible alternative to antibiotics for promoting pig health and growth. The effort, supported in part by the National Pork Board, arose from a need to provide livestock producers with alternatives to using dietary antibiotics as a growth-promoting agent in swine. A federal rule in 2017 eliminated the practice amid concerns that microbial resistance to medically important antibiotics could jeopardize their effectiveness in fighting human infection. Now, instead of using dietary antibiotics to help the piglets cope and avoid illness, scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are investigating a naturally occurring amino acid known as L-glutamine. Initial laboratory studies in 2017 showed glutamine-fed piglets gained more weight than antibiotic-treated ones, among other health benefits. But the researchers, led by ARS animal scientist Jay Johnson, wanted to try and replicate those results on a larger scale that more closely mimicked commercial production scenarios.