thiopeptin and Body-Weight

A cooperative study involving 280 crossbred pigs was conducted at three experiment stations (Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky) to evaluate the efficacy of the antibiotic, thiopeptin, as a growth promotant for growing pigs. At each station, two replications of barrows and two replications of gilts (four or five/pen), initially averaging 9.3 kg, were fed a fortified corn-soybean meal basal diet with 0, 5.5, 11, 22 or 44 ppm thiopeptin. The pigs averaged 41.4 kg at the end of the 56- to 57-d experimental period. Daily gain increased quandratically (505, 550, 565, 585, 590 g/d; P less than .001) and feed required per unit of gain decreased quadratically (2.32, 2.26, 2.29, 2.22, 2.22; P less than .15) with increasing levels of thiopeptin. Breakpoint analysis indicated that rate and efficiency of growth were maximized at the 14- and 22-ppm levels of thiopeptin, respectively. Averaged across all levels of thiopeptin, gain was increased by 13.4% and feed/gain by 3.2% in pigs fed the antibiotic. Responses to dietary treatment were similar at each station, with no evidence of a treatment X station interaction for gain (P = .35) or feed/gain (P = .80). Barrows and gilts performed similarly (558 vs 560 g/d, 2.26 vs 2.26 feed/gain) and there was no evidence of a sex X treatment interaction. From the results of this experiment, we conclude that thiopeptin is an effective growth promoting agent for growing swine.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Body Weight; Female; Food Additives; Male; Peptides; Sex Factors; Swine

Experiments were conducted to determine the potential of the antibiotic thiopeptin as a growth permittant for poultry. Thiopeptin as the semipurified antibiotic and as fermentation solids demonstrated activity against Clostridium perfringens at .03 ppm based on suppression of gas production in an anaerobic tube test. Supplementing a soybean protein and sucrose-based diet with levels of 2.2, 11, and 55 ppm of thiopeptin from each of the two sources resulted in significant improvements in weight gain and feed efficiency of chicks fed the higher levels. Computed indexes for each antibiotic treatment showed that the antibiotic as fermentation solids was slightly more active than the semipurified material at the lower levels. Supplementing the soybean protein and sucrose-based diet with 1.1, 5.5, 16.5, and 55 ppm thiopeptin reduced significantly (P less than .01) the numbers of C. perfringens organisms in ileal contents of chicks. Chicks fed 5.5, 16.5, and 55 ppm thiopeptin also had significantly fewer C. perfringens organisms in the intestine than those fed 1.1 ppm. A discussion is presented of the biological responses of thiopeptin relative to the antibiotics efrotomycin and bacitracin.

Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Body Weight; Chickens; Clostridium perfringens; Energy Metabolism; Food Additives; Intestine, Small; Male; Peptides

Two experiments were performed to study the effect of dietary antibiotics on percent daily weight change, mortality and gross cecal pathology in chickens during the critical phase of Eimeria tenella infection. In the first experiment, chickens were continuously fed ration containing thiopeptin, 2 mg/kg.; bacitracin, 20 mg./kg.; penicillin, 12 mg./kg.; or chlortetracycline, 22 mg./kg. One day after antibiotic fed was given, each bird received an oral inoculation of 30,000 sporulated oocyts. In the second experiment, chickens were consecutively fed ration containing amprolium plus ethopabate, 125 plus 8 mg./kg., and a combination of the coccidiostat and one of 4 antibiotics; thiopeptin, bacitracin, penicillin, or chloretracycline. One day after medicated feed was given, birds were each given an oral inoculation of 30,000 amprolium plus ethopabate-resistant E. tenella oocysts. The experiments were terminated 7 days after coccidia exposure. In both experiments, E. tenella infection resulted in depression in all birds of infected groups. Average percent weight change of infected birds was significantly lower than that of uninfected unmedicated control between 4 and 5 days after infection. Significantly greater number of birds died of cecal coccidiosis in group fed dietary bacitracin than that of other infected groups. Dietary antibiotics did not reduce gross cecal lesions.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Aminobenzoates; Amprolium; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Bacitracin; Body Weight; Chickens; Chlortetracycline; Coccidiosis; Drug Resistance; Eimeria; Male; Penicillin G Procaine; Peptides; Poultry Diseases