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Trial results: Insights from a year‑long pig trial using Levucell SB
A Lallemand Animal Nutrition trial has found that including probiotic live yeast, LEVUCELL SB, in pig diets can have positive outcomes for livestock performance.
On average, Levucell SB shortened the fattening period by 3 days and improved the feed conversion ratio by 2%.
Trial details at a glance:
- Location & duration: France, year‑long commercial trial
- Scale: 27,000 finisher pigs across 66 batches
- Groups: 32 batches received feed, including LEVUCELL SB; the remaining batches served as controls
- Strain: Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I‑1079 (LEVUCELL SB)
- Inclusion rate: 100 g/t (as per the trial diet formulation)
Findings – pig health and performance benefits
Hannah Elliott, monogastric technical manager at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, explains the trial findings.
“By including Levucell SB at 100g/t with an energy valorisation of 1.3%, pigs reached fattening weight 3 days sooner,” she says.
“Pigs fed Levucell SB also benefitted from better feed conversion ratio (FCR) and an improvement in average daily weight gain (ADG)”
FCR was reduced by an average of 2% in the experimental group and ADG increased by 2.6%.
Hannah adds: “This demonstrates that the pigs were more efficient at converting feed into body mass with the probiotic yeast.”
“Importantly, pigs supplemented with Levucell SB were shown to have better lean meat composition compared to the control group, resulting in better carcass quality,” she says.
How the probiotic live yeast works
More than 60 scientific publications have proven the beneficial effects of Levucell SB in maintaining pig gut health and performance.
Hannah explains how the feed additive works.
“Incorporating Levucell SB into pig diets improves fibre digestion,” she says.
“This is because the live yeast creates a favourable anaerobic intestinal environment, increases fibre degradation, and supports the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). This results in more energy for the pig.”
She adds: “As this most recent trial has shown, by replacing some of the raw material energy contribution cost with Levucell SB, positive results can be gained with minimal investment.”
Improved pig gut health and feed efficiency
Levucell SB is a probiotic live yeast specifically selected for monogastric animals.
Hannah explains: “Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii CNCM I-1079 was selected as a monogastric-specific live yeast due to its ability to survive in more acidic environments and survive throughout the digestive tract into the faeces.”
“This S.c. boulardii strain has a thicker cell wall than S. cerevisiae strains, allowing it to survive lower stomach pH levels than ruminant live yeast strains, as well as giving it specific adhesion benefits for gut wall and pathogen binding.”
This feed additive, registered for use in all pigs as a gut flora stabiliser, helps to support gut function, with a superior ability to:
- scavenge oxygen within the gut
- stimulate fibrobacteres populations (patent pending) for improved SCFA production
- Produces metabolites such as acetate, which contribute to a favourable intestinal environment, along with enzymes, including proteases and phosphatases, that support digestive processes and microbial balance.
How can Levucell SB benefit your pig herd?
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Published Nov 2, 2025 | Updated Feb 12, 2026
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