Alternative tannin sources in post-weaning piglets:
impact of  Lythrum salicaria  and  Bistorta officinalis 
on health and performance

Microbiota Lab, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Bioanalysis, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha street 1, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland

Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha street 1, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland

Publication date: 2026-06-03

Corresponding author

P. Krüsselmann

Institute of Animal Nutrition, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 49, 14195 Berlin, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/218163/2026

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References (53)

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ABSTRACT

Tannins have attracted increasing interest as dietary components for the prevention of post-weaning diarrhoea in piglets. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with an extract or plant material derived from Lythrum salicaria L. and Bistorta officinalis. Eighty weaned piglets (40 males and 40 females) were randomly divided into five treatment groups: control (CON), L. salicaria extract (LSE), B. officinalis extract (BOE), L. salicaria plant material (LSP), and B. officinalis plant material (BOP). Treatment diets were formulated to provide an equal tannin supplementation level (2 g/kg feed). Animals were slaughtered on days 13 and 14 of the trial. Intestinal digesta, faeces and tissue samples (duodenum, mid jejunum) were collected to analyse pH, ileal and total tract apparent nutrient digestibility (AID and ATTD), and histomorphological parameters. No significant differences were observed in performance and most histomorphological traits. Inclusion of LSP and BOP lowered AID of proline in comparison to CON (P = 0.044). The LSP group had the lowest arginine (P = 0.003) and histidine ATTD (P = 0.004). Both the LSP and BOP groups had reduced ATTD of glutamic acid (P = 0.003) and proline (P < 0.001), while BOP additionally showed the lowest proline ATTD. In conclusion, L. salicaria and B. officinalis supplementation did not adversely affect piglet performance, although reductions in the digestibility of several amino acids were recorded. These moderate effects suggest that tannins from L. salicaria and B. officinalis can be considered safe for piglet diets at the tested inclusion levels.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our gratitude to Luisa Ebersbach, Anett Kriesten, Katharina Schröter, Leila Al-Khalisi, Małgorzata Lipowska, Monika Marciniak, Sebastian Doktór for their support with the laboratory analyses. We also want to thank the animal caretakers Ines Bebert, Joana Bebert, Lisa Gronau, Sandra Fischer, and Sascha Günter for their excellent work during the animal trial.

FUNDING

The authors acknowledge support from the Polish National Science Centre and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft research grant OPUS LAP UMO-2020/39/I/NZ7/02547.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Authors declare that AI-assisted tools were used solely to improve the language and clarity of the manuscript. Specifically, DeepL (free translator; https://www.deepl.com/de/translator) and ChatGPT (version: 5.2) were employed for linguistic refinement. No AI tools were used for data analysis, interpretation, or the generation of scientific content.

REFERENCES (53)

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