The latest development in iron administration using Micro emulsions could make injecting piglets with iron a thing of the past…
Bio-Weyxin® FeVit ORAL IRON including vitamin A, E + B12 and beneficial aromatic herbal oils produced by Veyx-Pharma GmbH of Germany in their specialist plant in Holland is now available throughout the World following its successful uptake in Europe, Scandinavia and more recently the UK. The first UK based commercial farms began using the product in the spring of 2000 and several of these immediately switched over entirely from their former highly effective quality injectable irons. Since then millions of piglets have benefited from this excellent product. Extensive research and a large-scale application of the product in Europe testify to its reliability and effectiveness in the practical situation. What makes this ORAL IRON product different, is the way that it mimics the essential characteristics of the sow’s colostrum and specifically the milk fat droplet.
Research over many years into efficient forms of administering vitamins and other useful nutrients led Veyx-Pharma towards using sows’ milk as a model for delivering such essential nutrients directly to the animal’s active body cells.
They found that sows’ milk fat is highly dispersed and protected by protein membranes. These tiny fat droplets or, microcapsules, are formed to about one thousandth of a millimetre in diameter. At this minute size, the ingredients contained in the colostrum and milk fat pass directly into the blood stream from the lymphatic system and so by-pass the liver. This is also known as pericellular absorption, where long stringed chains of so-called chylomicrons (micro-emulsified fat particles) are pumped into the central lymphatic vessel of the villi on the gut wall. Because this activity involves minute particles of matter, or corpuscles, that can only be observed under an electron microscope, we term the transfer of the minute fat droplet directly into the animal body’s cells corpuscular absorption.
Diagram representing the absorbing epithelia of the small intestine. This shows the intercellular space (5) between the individual epithelial cells, that allows the lymphatic system to suction pump the minute emulsified fat droplets directly into the lymphatic system.
Thus this corpuscular absorption provides a direct route to the cells and ensures that losses of the essential nutrients do not occur, either during digestion in the intestine, or through the powerful filtering activity of the liver – this reduces stress on the hard working liver tissue. The result is a complete, safe and rapid effect, even in newborn, low birth weight and diseased animals suffering reduced digestive efficiency and an immature and or ineffective immune system. This highly efficient deposition of the essential nutrients directly into the body’s cells where they are needed produces an immediate effect and provides a reserve that will last for many days.
With non emulsified products the liver has to deal with all of the vitamins and the iron
With emulsified products like FeVit absorbed via the lymphatic system the vitamins and the iron are transported directly to the cells via the heart.
This chylomicron based technology is based entirely on the natural process for the transport of exogenous (dietary) fats and oils from the small intestines to the tissues after each feeding session. These chylomicrons are synthesised naturally in the intestinal mucosa and are carried via the intestinal lacteals and lymphatic system to the blood stream, they are then degraded to chylomicron remnants in the capillaries of muscle and adipose tissue through cleavage of the majority of their triglycerides by endothelial lipoprotein lipase. These remnants are rapidly cleared by the liver receptor-mediated endocytosis.
With FeVit this corpuscular absorption ensures the production of high levels of the all-important red blood cells, through increasing the output of its major constituent haemoglobin. This in turn, also leads to an increased resistance to disease, a healthier animal with an improved growth rate and feed efficiency.
The emulsified Bio-Weyxin® FeVit nutritional supplement now used in the UK, across Europe and Scandinavia contains Iron and also Vitamins (A, E and B12) along with a very effective group of natural oil and aromatic herbal products that help to counter nutritional scours and boost nutritional efficiency. Vitamin A and E specifically help develop the localised immunity on the gut wall. Vitamin B12 exerts an important influence on the digestion of fat and the formation of blood. Researchers also found, that unlike iron injection compounds, this oral product produced no immunosuppressive effects or of course, no injection site muscle damage or bruising.
Piglet
According to the studies of LEMACHER and BOSTEDT (1994) only about 17% of the piglets exhibit a normal supply of iron at birth. Iron deficiency anaemia is therefore seen as the essential cause of the particularly high mortality rate evident within the first three days after birth (approx. 50% of total piglet losses occur within this time interval).
Figure 1: Iron concentration in the blood of piglets during the first 72 hours of life following various methods of iron application (BOSTEDT 2002)
This clearly shows that FeVit oral iron maintains a more stable Iron content in the blood, unlike the very high peak caused by injected iron. This illustrates the potentially high load placed on the liver by injected iron and that this falls rapdily so that after 72 hours the blood levels are virtually at the same level.
Blood vitamin level values:
Various institutions have carried out tests on the increased vitamin content in the blood of various animals after administering different vitamin preparations orally and parenterally by injection. The tests produced, for example, the above results with Vitamin A:
 | With emulsified vitamins, the vitamin-content in the blood increases considerably only 15 minutes after they are administered. |
| The same increase of the vitamin content in the blood achieved with Bio-Weyxin® after 15 minutes is only achieved after 480 minutes with vitamin-water based (aqua sol) products administered by injection; with oral vitamins dissolved in oil and with water based vitamins (aqua sol) fed orally, this level is never achieved. |
| After 480 minutes the vitamin absorption of Bio-Weyxin® exceeds the absorption of other vitamin preparations by eight to ten times. |
Trials carried out by a specialist pig veterinarian (Dr. med. Vet. B. Iben) in Germany on a commercial farm produced significantly lower mortality levels, reduced scouring and produced heavier weaning weights in piglets treated 8 hours post farrowing with FeVit, compared to iron injected at 3 days of age. Over 300 piglets were treated in each group and the mortality rate for FeVit was only 5.5% to weaning compared to 13.5% (injection) and the weaning weight averaged 7.4kg at day 21 for FeVit compared to 6.6kg in the injected group. Results in the UK on a 700 sow indoor herd using a further improved version of the product supports these levels of improvement. They find the product easy to use and the results speak for themselves with sustained periods of time following FeVit introduction @ 25 pigs/sow/year. They are now using the product for all of their iron treatments and no longer consider it necessary to inject iron. They now also find that they do not need to repeat treat piglets as they often did when they injected.
FeVit is a free flowing liquid (@ 20ºC) given orally in a 2ml dose (=230mg Iron) using a standard 2ml applicator or a special dosing gun. This can be fed as soon as the piglets have taken their first full drink of colostrum. It is important for them to have taken colostrum, to ensure that their digestive system is primed ready for an optimum uptake of iron and the other active nutrients contained in FeVit. Once they have had colostrum, then the earlier they are treated the better. It is certainly best given within the first 24 hours to ensure the piglets gain the maximum advantage and the full effect. Recent trials show that the oral iron emulsion is also absorbed very effectively in older piglets and that repeat treatments at 7 to 10 days are as effective as repeat iron injections given at that time.
THE COMPARATIVE COST – this will depend on quantity discounts, but it will compete well with the price of the better quality injectable irons currently used, with the added bonus of Vitamins A, E and B12 along with the aromatic herbal ingredients with their all important phyto-factors and positive influence on the digestive system. The product has a shelf life of about 2 years (stored at 15ºC room temperature) and so can be purchased in bulk to achieve the best quantity discounts. FeVit is available in 100ml (50 piglet trial size) and 500ml bottles (250 piglet size).
FeVit is a supplementary feed registered as such under EU Feedstuffs Regulations, confirmed by the UK Feed Standards Agency and is available without restriction. The product must be shaken well prior to use and administered at around 20ºC or above to ensure good flow rates using the specified 2ml dose.
The good news is we now have an oral iron combined in a nutritional supplement that works consistently well and is also equalling and often outperforming the best of the injectable irons on commercial farms. This is not ‘just another’ oral iron product – it could well make injecting iron a thing of the past for many of us and do so with improved performance and a better financial return for the pig producer.
Neville Beynon, Reading, UK February, 2007
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