Linneos Technical Department (grupo Andrés Pintaluba), 2024.
Introduction
Pigs are very sensitive to both sweet and umami tastes. Stimulation of the receptors for these two tastes triggers a hedonic effect that leads to an increase in feed intake. The study of the variations in feed intake in each post-weaning stage derived from the use of palatants, as well as the knowledge of the sensitivity and nutritional preferences of pigs, will lead to the improvement of feeding practices through the use of organoleptic additives, with the aim of improving palatability.
Objetives
To assess the effect of Apsabor Umami on the palatability of post-weaned piglet feed.
Materials and methods
Animals and facilities
The study was carried out under commercial conditions in a pig farm in Igualada (Barcelona, Spain). It was carried out in two phases of 28 days each.

Twelve pens with 22 animals per pen were planned for both the first and the second phase. A total of 132 piglets were used in 2 treatments (3 replicates (pens) per treatment: 66 piglets/treatment in the 1st phase and 66 piglets/treatment in the 2nd phase). The weights and number of animals were equalised per pen so that the pens were similar to each other. All treatments had the same management conditions.
Experimental design
The test was carried out using the following experimental design:
Treatment | Pre-starter feed (days 1-15) | Starter feed (days 16-28) |
T1: Control | Palatant-free feed | Palatant-free feed |
T2: APSABOR UMAMI | T1 + APSABOR UMAMI | T1 + APSABOR UMAMI |
Datos
Se midieron los siguientes parámetros productivos:
- Feed consumption.
- Individual live weight at the beginning and end of each phase.
- Mortality and/or discarding of animals.
- Parameters derived from the above: live weight gained, average daily gain and feed conversion ratio.

Results
The mean daily liveweight gain of piglets fed the feed added with APSABOR UMAMI showed a highly significant statistical improvement over the control group, both in the pre-weaning period and at weaning (p < 0.01).
During the study, no deaths occurred.
Conclusions
- When interpreting the complete weaning period, it can be found that the use of APSABOR UMAMI improves the productive values, with a difference compared to the control group.
- With the addition of Apsabor Umami better ADG results are obtained than in the control.
- The inclusion of Apsabor Umami in the piglet feed at the post-weaning stage is recommended as a means to significantly improve the palatability of the feed and thus increase feed intake.