DID YOU KNOW?
Umami: The Savory Trigger Of Appetite
The umami taste was first scientifically identified in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda, a professor from the Tokyo Imperial University. Umami is the taste of “savoriness”, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. It delivers a rich, meaty, mouthwatering sensation, naturally found in shellfish, mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, aged cheeses, seaweed, and fermented products.

Umami compounds naturally present in feed can trigger these appetite reflexes, encouraging piglets to start eating sooner. Unlike synthetic additives, umami originates from natural ingredients such as yeast extracts, hydrolyzed proteins, or plant‑based alternatives, supporting nutritional strategies aligned with the growing demand for natural feed formulations.

Why Early Feed Intake Matters

The post-weaning period is one of the most critical phases in pig production. Piglets face abrupt changes: separation from the sow, transition to solid feed, and an immature digestive system struggling to adapt.

These stressors often lead to temporary fasting, low energy intake and impaired gut function. Early and consistent feed intake helps stabilize stomach pH, stimulates digestive enzymes, supports gut maturation and sets piglets up for robust performance.

YELA PROSECURE: Harnessing Umami for Optimal Feed Intake

Thanks to a controlled hydrolysis process, 94% of the soluble protein fraction from YELA PROSECURE — a specific functional hydrolyzed yeast from Lallemand — consists of free amino acids and small peptides, making the product highly digestible and bioavailable for the animals.

Thanks to its full and balanced range of primary and secondary amino acids, YELA PROSECURE contributes significantly to enhance the feed intake of piglets through different complementary mechanisms, including the umami channel (Figure 1).

Beyond umami, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) — such as leucine, isoleucine and valine — trigger signaling pathways between intestinal cells and the brain, stimulating feed intake, while amino acids like tryptophan and phenylalanine, which are precursor of serotonin, modulate hormonal systems to regulate appetite.

Glutamic acid further reinforces this effect. YELA PROSECURE enhances palatability and supports the physiological mechanisms that drive early and consistent feed consumption by providing these key amino acids in a readily available form.

Beneficial Effects on Feed Intake and Growth

Several trials demonstrated the consistent beneficial effects of YELA PROSECURE on piglet feed intake and growth along different nutritional strategies. As an example, research with piglets at 28 days old showed that feeding YELA PROSECURE improves zootechnical performance, including significantly better in average daily feed intake and average daily gain (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Research farm, Spain, 2020 – P < 0.005. Feed conversion ratio: Control data normalized at 100 value – YPS data relative value compared to control (Bravo de Laguna et al., 2025)

Feeding The Piglet, Feeding the Gut

YELA PROSECURE is designed to deliver multiple functionalities — not just appetibility. Beyond flavor, thanks to its high level of free amino acids and small peptides, YELA PROSECURE, shows a flash and fast protein digestibility kinetic with 77% digestibility measured right after the stomach and more than 90% after 3 hours of the intestinal phase.

Supplying animals with a flash and fast digestible protein source, rich in free amino acids and small peptides, helps them easily absorb and use those nutrients.

It supports animal performance, maintains digestive health and fosters feed intake/appetite regulation while contributing to the feed protein balance. This is particularly of interest when fed during sensitive developmental stages.

Finally, YELA PROSECURE contains approximatively 38% of total dietary fibers (fermentable carbohydrates), mainly insoluble, that can be used by hindgut microbial populations. Fibrobacteres and Ruminococcus — bacteria located in the hindgut — are the primary degraders of those fermentable insoluble carbohydrates, leading to a fiber fermentation.

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetate, propionate and butyrate (the preferred energy source for the gut), are metabolites from fiber fermentation. SCFAs production help maintain optimal gut integrity with closed tight junctions. In turns, it reduces the risk of inflammation and modulates the gut microbiota. From the outside, it translates into better growth performance of the piglets.

The Bottom Line

Early feed intake isn’t just about providing feed. It’s about activating physiological drivers that help piglets thrive. YELA PROSECURE effectively stimulates appetite while simultaneously supporting digestive and gut health maintenance. This dual action makes it a compelling solution for improving post-weaning performance — going well beyond simple taste enhancement.

For more information on YELA PROSECURE and its benefits, visit Lallemand Animal Nutrition:

https://www.lallemandanimalnutrition.com/en/europe/products/yela-prosecure/