Evaluation of the use of Kolin plus™ FC (polyherbal formulation) as a natural replacer of choline chloride in weaned piglet diets: Effects on performance and blood variables

Abstract

Abstract Background Choline is a vitamin-like nutrient that plays a crucial role in several biological processes. Choline is typically added to pig diets in the form of choline chloride. However, the use of this synthetic choline has some disadvantages such as high capacity to absorb moisture, oxidative loss of vitamins in feed and its metabolism generates a compound that can taint animal-origin products. Thus, we conducted a study to evaluated the effects of feeding diets containing natural choline (Kolin plus™ FC) as a replacement of choline chloride on performance and blood variables of weaned piglets. Results The use of Kolin plus™ FC tended (p = 0.09) to improve the feed conversion ratio in the pre-starter II phase. No statistical differences were observed for the remaining performance variables. The mortality did not differ among treatments. There were no differences among treatments for any blood variable evaluated. Conclusion The polyherbal formulation Kolin Plus™ FC successfully replaced choline chloride in weaned piglet diets without compromising the growth performance and health of nursery piglets.