Plasma Functional Proteins and Peptides: A Sustainable Nutritional Alternative to Support Piglet Performance and...

This study evaluated the effects of including spray-dried porcine plasma (SDP) in nursery diets and enzymatically hydrolyzed plasma (EHP) in drinking water on piglet growth performance and post-weaning diarrhea (PWD). Four treatments were tested: CONTROL (soy protein concentrate, SPC), P1SDP (5% SDP in phase 1), P1 + P2SDP (5% SDP and 2% SDP in phases 1 and 2), and EHP (0.88% in water during phases 1 and 2). No significant differences among treatments were observed during phase 1. During phase 2 (14-28 days) pigs fed SDP or pigs provided EHP in water had higher average daily gain (ADG; p = 0.001) and feed conversion (GFR; p = 0.013) versus the other groups. Pigs fed SDP in the first two phases had an average d-42 body weight that was 1.54 kg heavier than controls. Post-weaning diarrhea was not observed at any time during the study. These results support the use of SDP and EHP as effective nutritional strategies to enhance the growth and resilience of pigs during the post-weaning period. Both ingredients contribute to sustainable pig production by improving efficiency and promoting circular economy practices through the valorization of animal by-products.