Monogastric animals, organic

This chapter reports the progress made in the development of probiotic, prebiotic and other preventative treatments for gastrointestinal diseases, which have potential for use in organic and low input monogastric livestock production systems. Most of the results discussed focus on research with pigs, but most results should be transferable to other monogastric animals including poultry. 

The organic dilemma in monogastric animals the protein sources... 

One particular area of concern is the feeding of protein to monogastric organic animals. In conventional production, current production relies on providing supplementary synthetic amino acids. Poultry has a high demand for sulfur-containing amino acids and pigs have a... 

Toxins from plants may affect internal organs, such as the heart, kidney, liver, and stomach. Because of their very different digestive systems involving multiple stomachs, ruminant animals may react differently to these toxins than do monogastric animals. Some major plant toxins that affect internal organs are summarized in Table 19.1. 

Cobalt is an essential element for bacteria, algae and ruminant mammals. For other organisms, including monogastric animals, cobalt is essential, in the form of the essential compound vitamin Bj2 (cobalamin). Rumen microflora of ruminants synthesises cobal-amin from cobalt in the diet. Derivatives of vitamin Bj2 cobamides are cofactors of some enzymes, for example of methyhnalonyl coenzyme A mutase, glutamate mutase and methionin synthetase. 

Phosphorus is an important component of feed, as it is crucial for bone and skeleton formation. About 70 % of phosphorus in vegetable feed ingredients is present in the form of phytate, an inositol-bound organic form of phosphorus that has a low bioavailability in monogastric animals. For this reason, the diet for monogastric animals like pigs and chickens is supplemented... 

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