Harnessing silver nanoparticles to promote swine growth: a safer alternative to antibiotics

Abstract

Antibiotics as growth promoters (AGP) have historically been a staple of the swine production industry. However, recent developments indicate that their use has several consequences for humanity’s sanitary safety. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have antibiotic properties and could represent a viable alternative. In the current study, only AgNPs incorporated in a carbohydrate (AgNPs@Carb) were characterized and tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. To assess AgNPs@Carb action as an alternative to AGP, 32 barrows and 32 gilts were housed in a growing finishing facility with 70 days of age and an average weight of 24.08 ± 2.72 kg. They were fed four treatments: NC – no addition of AgNPs@Carb, NP05 - addition of 5 mg kg-1 of AgNPs@Carb, NP10 - 10 mg kg-1 of AgNPs@Carb, and NP15 - 15 mg kg-1 of AgNPs@Carb; each treatment had eight replicates of two animals (pen). The 83 days of the trial were divided into two periods: growing (0–42) and finishing (43–83). AgNPs@Carb addition to the diet improved average daily feed intake and chilled carcass yield and decreased diarrhea frequency and backfat thickness. AgNPs@Carb showed potential effects in acting as a feed additive in swine diets, and the ideal dose was estimated by regression at 7 mg kg-1. These findings offer a possible option to reduce the risk of antibiotics overuse, at least partially during swine feeding, for safer and cleaner production.