Any pig farmer will tell you how well zinc oxide works to control post-weaning diarrhoea. However, nobody knows exactly how it works. There is plenty of information on its effects on microbiota and the intestinal epithelium; but not much beyond that.
任何一个养猪户都会告诉你，氧化锌是可以控制断奶后仔猪腹泻。但是，没有人知道它是如何工作的。他们对微生物群和肠上皮产生影响的信息不是很全面了解。
In our project we wanted to understand how zinc oxide actually works to develop better alternatives. And the first question we had was: who proposed the use of zinc oxide for prevention of post-weaning diarrhoea? And why?
在我们的项目中，我们想了解氧化锌实际上如何开发更好的替代品。我们第一个问题是：谁提出使用氧化锌来预防断奶后腹泻?为什么?
However, the PhD student working in the project, Roger Davin, found some very interesting information.
然而，在该项目工作的博士生Roger Davin发现了一些非常有趣的信息。
Zinc, along with oral rehydration solutions (ORS), is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) the only treatment recommended to reduce the duration and severity of diarrhoea in children. Not antibiotics, not probiotics, but zinc.
锌，以及口服补液解决方案(ORS)是由世界卫生组织(WHO)建议使用来减少儿童腹泻的持续时间和严重程度的一种微量元素。不是抗生素，不是益生菌，而是锌。
It was quite surprising for us to find such information. The same treatment as for piglets! Not only zinc, but oral rehydration solutions were also recommended. Sound familiar?
发现这样的信息是非常令人惊讶的。人类儿童与仔猪是一样的治疗方法。不仅是锌，而且口服补液也被推荐。
The secret of those solutions is very simple and at the same time an amazing concept: salt and sugar will not help against diarrhoea if given separated, but they will save your life if combined. They need to be together to favour water absorption. Now you know, make sure the electrolytes you use for piglets have glucose and sodium together.
这些解决方案的秘诀非常简单，同时也是一个惊人的概念：盐和糖在分开的时候不能帮助止住腹泻，但如果结合起来，他们会挽救你的生命。他们需要加在一起才能有利于吸水。 现在你知道，确保用于仔猪的电解质有葡萄糖和钠。
Are piglets deficient in zinc?
仔猪缺锌吗?
But let’s go back to zinc. In children, populations with diarrhoea are deficient in zinc and have a low level of zinc in blood. After zinc supplementation the improvement is fast as blood levels of zinc go back to normal levels.
但是让我们回到锌。在儿童中，腹泻人群普遍缺锌，血锌含量低。锌补充后，锌的血液水平恢复正常水平，改善速度快。
We decided to investigate this in piglets and the results were clear. The level of zinc in the blood of piglets before weaning was similar to the levels in the blood of healthy children. The level of zinc in the blood of piglets after weaning was similar to the levels in the blood of children with diarrhoea.
我们决定对仔猪进行调查，结果很清楚。断奶前仔猪血液中锌的含量与健康儿童血液中的水平相似。断奶后仔猪血液中的锌含量也与腹泻儿童血液中的水平相似。
Drop in zinc levels with piglets
仔猪体内锌水平的下降
And this drop in zinc levels happened as fast as 2 days post weaning. Roger Davin tested more than 15 products, including zinc oxide, zinc sulfate, nano-zinc and other organic and inorganic sources of zinc at nutritional doses for piglets.
锌含量的下降发生在断奶后2天。Roger Davin针对仔猪的营养剂量测试了超过15种产品，包括氧化锌，硫酸锌，纳米锌和其他有机和无机锌源。
However, only zinc oxide added at doses higher than 1,000 ppm was able to return blood zinc to normal levels. Those are the same levels discussed by David Burch.
然而，David Burch提到，只有以高于1,000ppm的剂量加入的氧化锌才能使血锌回到正常水平。。
Zinc is the trace element involved in more biological functions than any other micro-mineral in the nutrition of the early weaned pig.
锌是与早期断奶猪营养中最重要的微生物功能的微量元素。
At the same time it disappears from the organism of the piglet much faster than similar elements like iron or copper. Thus, a piglet that does not have a proper supply of zinc will be immunosuppressed and will have many physiological functions will be affected within days.
同时，它从仔猪的生物体消失得比像铁或铜的类似元素快得多。因此，没有适当供应锌的仔猪将被免疫抑制，并且将具有许多生理功能将在几天内受到影响。
New innovative ways to replace zinc oxide?
新的替代氧化锌的创新方法?
Should we start looking for new innovative ways to replace high levels of zinc oxide? Is zinc oxide really acting as a medicine in that context?
我们应该开始寻找新的创新方式来替代高水平的氧化锌吗?在这种情况下，氧化锌是否真的作为一种药物?
Should we go back to look at it from a nutritional point of view? And most important, will the CVMP cause a severe nutrient deficiency in piglets by not allowing the use