Gastric Ulcers in Swine 3. Effects of Different Proteins and Fats on their Development

The occurrence of gastric ulcers in swine is now widely recognized in the swine raising areas of the United States and Europe. Recent investigations have demonstrated certain nutritional factors to be of importance for the ulcerogenesis. PERRY et al.6 produced ulcers using heat-treated corn in swine rations. NUWER et al.4 supplemented diets containing heat-treated corn with nutrients which might have been destroyed during preparation. None of the additives, which included amino acids and several vitamins, had a protective effect. By frac-tionating the corn into the germ, endosperm and bran CURTI IN^), the highest incidence of ulcers was found in the pigs receiving the heat-treated endosperm. REESE et al.7 were unable to demonstrate any difference between raw and heat-treated corn when using the same corn product as that used by PERRY et al.6 in a slightly different ration. The same investigators observed that on rations containing 85 % oats in place of corn the pigs all had normal stomachs, whereas all stomachs from pigs fed 76 % corn showed abnormalitiesg. A beneficial effect was also observed by substituting wheat for corn in the diet. NAFSTAD~ reported a high incidence of gastric ulcers when rations containing casein, sugar and potato starch were fed, especially when high amounts of unsaturated dietary fats were includeds. Low protein content or omission of vitamin E increased the severity of the lesions. This research was conducted to test the effect of our previous ulcerogenic rations with some of its main ingredients replaced with other ones. Thus we found it desirable to substitute another protein source for the casein, and further to replace the unsaturated fats with saturated ones