Intestinal Effects of Dietary Betaine in Piglets

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of graded dietary inclusion levels of betaine on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities and intestinal bacterial fermentation characteristics in piglets. A total of 8 barrows (BW 7.9 kg) was fitted with simple T-cannulas at the distal ileum. The animals were randomly allocated to 1 of the 4 assay diets with 2 pigs per treatment in 4 repeated measurement periods. The assay diets included a basal diet based on wheat, barley and soybean meal alone, or supplemented with a liquid betaine product at dietary levels of 1.5, 3.0, or 6.0 g betaine kg–1 diet (as–fed). Ileal digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) increased both quadratically and linearly (P<0.05), and ileal digestibility of glycine increased linearly as dietary betaine level increased (P<0.05). Moreover, there were linear increases in the concentrations of ileal D–lactic acid (P<0.05), indicating intensified intestinal bacterial activities as dietary betaine level increased. At the fecal level, total tract crude protein (CP) digestibility increased quadratically (P<0.05), and digestibility of amino acids (AA) tended to increase quadratically (P=0.06 to P=0.11), except for proline (P>0.05), as dietary betaine level increased. The increased bacterial degradation of CP and AA in the large intestine coincides with the linear increase (P<0.05) in fecal diaminopimelic acid concentrations, indicating enhanced intestinal bacterial growth with increasing dietary betaine levels. In most cases, there was a response in the variables that were measured up to 3.0 g betaine per kg diet, whereas increasing the betaine level from 3.0 to 6.0 g betaine per kg diet had no additional effect. It can be concluded that dietary betaine stimulates microbial fermentation of fiber in the small intestine, leaving less fermentable fiber to reach the large intestine and therefore, increased microbial degradation of protein in the large intestine may occur. Keywords: piglets, betaine, digestibility, bacterial fermentation, microflor

Betaine, organic acids and inulin do not affect ileal and total tract nutrient digestibility or microbial fermentation in piglets

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of betaine alone or combined with organic acids and inulin on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities and intestinal microbial fermentation characteristics in piglets. In total, 24 four-week-old barrows with an average initial body weight of 6.7 kg were used in two consecutive experiments with 12 piglets each. Betaine, organic acids and inulin at a level of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.2%, respectively, or combinations of these supplements were added to the basal diet. The supplementation of betaine, organic acids and inulin or any of their combinations did not affect ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities. The microbial fermentation products both at the ileal and faecal level were not affected by any of the treatments. In conclusion, combining betaine with organic acids and inulin did not have any associated effects on the variables that were measured

Effect of graded levels of dietary betaine on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities and intestinal bacterial metabolites in piglets*

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of graded dietary inclusion levels of betaine on ileal and total tract nutrient digestibilities and intestinal bacterial metabolites in piglets. A total of eight barrows with an average initial body weight of 7.9 kg were randomly allocated to one of the four assay diets with two pigs per treatment in four repeated measurement periods. The assay diets included a basal diet based on wheat, barley and soybean meal alone, or supplemented with a liquid betaine product at dietary levels of 1.5, 3.0, or 6.0 g betaine per kilogram diet (as-fed). Ileal digestibilities of dry matter and neutral detergent fibre increased both quadratically and linearly, and ileal digestibility of glycine increased linearly as dietary betaine level increased (p < 0.05). Furthermore, total tract digestibility of crude pro- tein increased quadratically (p < 0.05) and total tract digestibilities of most amino acids tended to increase quadratically (p = 0.06 to p = 0.11) with increasing dietary betaine level. Moreover, there were linear increases in the concentrations of most bacterial metabolites which were significant p < 0.05 for ileal d-lactic acid and for faecal diaminopimelic acid. The results demonstrate that dietary betaine supplementation stim- ulates bacterial fermentation of fibre in the small intestine and bacterial degradation of crude protein in the large intestine

Replacement of soya bean meal with peas and faba beans in growing/finishing pig diets: effect on performance, carcass composition and nutrient excretion

There is now an increasing debate about the viability of using temperate-grown legumes in pig diets as a potential replacement for imported soya bean meal (SBM) and this is due to food security, sustainability and environmental concerns. Two trials were designed to examine nitrogen (N) retention, growth performance and carcass quality of grower and finisher pigs when fed nutritionally balanced SBM-free diets formulated to contain peas or faba beans at 300 g/kg, compared to an SBM-containing, pulse-free control diet. Trial 1 evaluated N digestibility/retention in four iso-energetic diets, comparing the SBM control with one diet formulated with peas and two with faba bean cultivars; a tannin-containing and a tannin-free variety. This trial employed a four by four Latin Square design with four male pigs housed in metabolism crates, fed twice daily at 0.9 of assumed ad libitum intake over four time periods during grower (30–55 kg) and finisher (55–95 kg) phases. Quantitative faecal and urine collection allowed determination of N coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility, coefficient of apparent metabolisability, and N balance. Results revealed that dietary treatment did not affect these N parameters (P > 0.05) during either the grower or finisher phase. Trial 2 evaluated growth performance (feed intake, daily live weight gain and feed conversion ratio) and carcass quality parameters. Five diets (based on SBM, peas and one of three faba bean cultivars) balanced for standard ileal digestible amino acids and net energy were each fed to eight replicates of individually housed entire male pigs over the same growth phases as Trial 1. The inclusion of three faba bean varieties allowed comparison of animal responses between tannin/tannin-free and spring vs. winter bean cultivars. At ∼95 kg, pigs were slaughtered and a comprehensive range of carcass measurements undertaken. Samples of shoulder backfat were also taken at slaughter to determine skatole and indole concentrations. As with N balance, feeding treatment did not affect performance data. Carcass parameters revealed pigs fed with the pea-based diet had a greater dressing percentage than those animals on faba bean-based diets. Pigs fed with the SBM or pea-based diets also had greater lean meat percentages than those on faba-bean diets. Mean skatole concentrations for all pigs were below the accepted maximum threshold level of 0.2 μg/g. In conclusion, it is suggested that peas and faba beans can be successfully fed in balanced pig diets throughout the grower/finisher periods as alternatives to SBM