DOSE-RESPONSE TRIAL OF AN UMAMI SENSORY ADDITIVE IN PIG TRANSITION DIETS

Umami taste helps to identify protein sources in swine diets. Data from our in vitro studies using a cell reporter system that expresses the porcine umami taste receptor showed that, besides certain amino acids, there are other candidates able to act as umami ligands. Results from in vivo studies with weanling piglets supported the above suggestion by showing that a specific formulation of a non-nutritive high intensity umami (HIU) sensory additive appeared to be more effective than monosodium glutamate in stimulating the umami taste in pigs. Data reported herein is from a dose-response trial aiming to investigate the impact of this selected HIU sensory additive, added in pig pre-starter (weaning to 14 d a.w.) and starter (from 15 to 28 d a.w.) diets, in animal performance. Two-hundred eighty-eight 21-d-old weaned pigs (Landrace x Large White) were distributed in 48 pens among 4 dietary doses (12 pens/dose): 0, 900, 1800 and 3600 ppm of the HIU sensory additive (ref.136, LUCTA SA), following a randomized complete design. Experimental diets were in mash form, medicated, and formulated to meet piglet’s nutrient requirements (NRC, 2012). Performance data was recorded weekly and analysed with linear, quadratic and cubic contrasts using a mixed-effect model with repeated measures that included pen as random effect and dose, week and their interaction as fixed effects. Overall, Body weight (BW) showed better results at 900 and 1800 ppm compared to 3600 ppm (P < 0.05) and a better gain to feed (G/F) ratio at the dose of 1800 ppm (P < 0.05) vs. 0 and 3600 ppm. No differences were observed in intake among doses. BW and G/F ratio showed a quadratic response to dose (shown in the table). According to these results, we conclude that the HIU sensory additive may improve animal performance when used between 900 and 1800 ppm.