Effect of wild ginseng on the laying performance, egg quality, cytokine expression, ginsenoside concentration, and microflora quantity of laying hens

The experiment was carried out to study the effect of Korean wild ginseng adventitious root supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, cytokine expression, ginsenoside concentration, and microflora quantity of Institut de selection Animale (ISA) brown laying hens at 24 weeks old. A total of 90 laying hens were subjected to a completely randomized design at three treatments, five repetitions and six laying hens per replicate. The experiments were divided by diets into the basic feed (CON), basic feed + 0.1% wild ginseng (WG1), and basic feed + 0.5% wild ginseng (WG2). The feeding trial was carried out over a duration of 12 weeks after an initial acclimation period of 2 weeks. Feeds and water were administered ad libitum in mash form, and light was available for 16 hours per day. At the end of study, hen-day egg production (HDEP), average egg weight (AEW), and egg mass (EM) were increased (p <0.05) in WG2 at week 12. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was decreased (p < 0.05) in WG2 at week 12. The ginsenoside content in egg yolk was increased (p <0.05) in laying hens in the WG2 treatment at week 12. Relative expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was reduced (p < 0.05) in the WG supplemented diets at week 12. The fecal microflora quantity of Lactobacillus was increased (p < 0.05) in WG2 at week 8 to week 12, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the WG2 at week 12. We concluded that the result observed in the HDEP, AEW, EM and FCR was due to an increase in ginsenoside content, leading to an improvement in the TNF-α, and fecal microflora quantity such as Lactobacillus and E. coli in the WG2 supplemented diets. We therefore recommend the use of WG at application level 0.5% per basal diet for optimum laying performance in layer hens

Effects of dietary supplementation of bacteriophage with or without zinc oxide on the performance and gut development of weanling pigs

The present study investigates the effect of zinc oxide (ZN), bacteriophage (BAC) or their combination on the growth performance and gut development in weaning pigs. A total of 200 weaned pigs were allotted to four treatments including two levels (0 and 0.34%) of ZN and two levels (0 and 0.10%) of BAC cocktail. Supplementation of both BAC and ZN in the diet improved average daily gain and gain to feed ratio in all three phases. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter was consistently increased in BAC. A higher digestibility of dry matter was observed in ZN group at phase-I and II. The ATTD of crude protein was increased in BAC group at phase-I and III. ZN increased ATTD of crude protein during phase III. In all phases, the population of total anaerobic bacteria, Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Clostridium spp. and coliforms were higher in BAC and ZN groups with the exception for coliforms in ZN at the end of experiment. The duodenum (p < 0.05) and jejunum (p < 0.01) villus heights were considerably increased in BAC group but the ileal villus height was not affected by the addition of BAC in the diet. Similar increase (p < 0.05) in the duodenal (p = 0.06) and jejunal (p < 0.01) villus heights were also observed in ZN supplemented groups. The overall faecal score was reduced (p < 0.01) by BAC and tended to decrease (p = 0.07) by ZN. Thus both ZN and BAC are useful for improving the performance and gut health in weaning pigs without any interactive effects

Effects of as fucoidan-rich algae on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology and caecal microflora in weanling pigs

Objective In the present study, role of increasing levels of Ecklonia cava (seaweed) supplementation in diets was investigated on growth performance, coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of nutrients, serum immunoglobulins, cecal microflora and intestinal morphology of weanling pigs. Methods A total of 200 weaned pigs (Landrace×Yorkshire×Duroc; initial body weight 7.08±0.15 kg) were randomly allotted to 4 treatments on the basis of body weight. There were 5 replicate pens in each treatment including 10 pigs of each. Treatments were divided by dietary Ecklonia cava supplementation levels (0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, or 0.15%) in growing-finishing diets. There were 2 diet formulation phases throughout the experiment. The pigs were offered the diets ad libitum for the entire period of experiment in meal form. Results The pigs fed with increasing dietary concentrations of Ecklonia cava had linear increase (p<0.05) in the overall average daily gain, however, there were no significant differences in gain to feed ratio, CTTAD of dry matter and crude protein at both phase I and phase II. Digestibility of gross energy was linearly improved (p<0.05) in phase II. At day 28, pigs fed Ecklonia cava had greater (linear, p<0.05) Lactobacillus spp., fewer Escherichia coli (E. coli) spp. (linear, p<0.05) and a tendency to have fewer cecal Clostridium spp. (p = 0.077). The total anaerobic bacteria were not affected with supplementation of Ecklonia cava in diets. Polynomial contrasts analysis revealed that villus height of the ileum exhibited a linear increase (p<0.05) in response with the increase in the level of dietary Ecklonia cava. However, villus height of duodenum and jejunum, crypt depth, villus height to crypt depth ratio of different segments of the intestine were not affected. Conclusion The results suggest that Ecklonia cava had beneficial effects on the growth performance, cecal microflora, and intestinal morphology of weanling pigs

Effects of dietary supplementation of Ecklonia cava with or without probiotics on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, immunity and intestinal health in weanling pigs

The present study investigated the effect of dietary supplementation of Ecklonia cava, probiotics or their combination on the growth performance and gut health in weanling pigs. A total of 240 weaned pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc, 7.04 ± 0.23 kg) were allotted to four treatments. The dietary treatments were basal diet (control) or diet supplemented with 1.5 g/kg Ecklonia cava (EC), 3.0 g/kg fermented probiotic product (P) or combination of both 1.5 g/kg Ecklonia cava and 3.0 g/kg fermented probiotic product (ECP) fed in meal form for 2 phases. Average daily gain (ADG) was improved consistently in phases I, II and overall result of the experiment for supplemented groups, and feed efficiency was improved (p <0.05) in the PR and EC throughout the experiment. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE) and crude protein (CP) was improved (p <0.05) in both phases for PR and EC. The cecal Lactobacillus spp. was increased (p <0.01) for PR and EC while E. coli was decreased (p <0.05) in both supplements. Serum IgG, IgM and IgA were increased (p <0.05) in the EC groups. The interaction between PR and EC was significant for IgG at the second phase as well. The villus height of duodenum, jejunum and ileum was increased (p <0.05) in EC and PR groups, while crypt depth was not affected by the treatments. This suggested that both Ecklonia cava and probiotics are beneficial for weanling pigs; however, there were no interactions

The microbial pH-stable exogenous multienzyme improved growth performance and intestinal morphology of weaned pigs fed a corn–soybean-based diet

The present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of multienzyme preparation on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients, and gut health of weaned pigs. A total of 240 weaned pigs (initial body weight: 7.3 ± 0.7 kg) were randomly allotted to five treatments on the basis of body weight. The dietary treatments included a corn–soybean meal (SBM)-based diet supplemented with 0 (control), 0.025, 0.050%, 0.075%, or 0.10% multienzyme preparation. The experimental diets were fed in a meal form for two phases (d 0–14, phase I and d 15–28, phase II). Increasing multienzyme supplementation linearly improved overall (d 0–28) average daily gain, gain:feed, and ATTD of dry matter, gross energy, and crude protein. At d 21, pigs fed dietary increasing levels of multienzyme preparation had linearly greater Lactobacillus spp. (ileum and caecum and faeces) and fewer Clostridium spp. (ileum and caecum) and Escherichia coli (ileum and faeces) populations. On d 28, villus height of the jejunum and ileum were linearly increased with dietary increase in multienzyme preparation. In conclusion, this multienzyme has potential to improve the growth performance, ATTD of nutrients, and gut health of weaned pigs fed a corn–SBM-based diet in the absence of antibiotics growth promoters

An overview of hourly rhythm of demand-feeding pattern by a controlled feeding system on productive performance of lactating sows during summer

The present study investigated the impacts of the conventional feeder and free feeding time (FFT), and backfat thickness (<20 mm and ≥20 mm) on sows at farrowing to weaning during the summer season. A total of 56 crossbred sows were allotted to one of four treatments according to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Feeder type affected body weight changes (p < .01) and backfat losses (p < .05), and the body weight changes (p < .05) and backfat losses (p < .01) of sows were lower for those with <20 mm backfat thickness compared with those with ≥20 mm backfat thickness during the lactation period. Daily feed intake was greater in sows with lower backfat thickness (5.47 kg; p < .01) and sows in the FFT group (5.46 kg; p < .05). A greater average daily gain was observed in sows in the FFT group (p < .05). There were no effects of feeder type or backfat thickness on weaning-to-oestrus interval, blood urea nitrogen, glucose, triglyceride, creatinine, FSH and LH, or colostrum and milk composition for sows during lactation. There was a linear increase in the count of Lactobacillus spp. and coliforms in conventional feeders over time (p < .01). A linear increase was detected for acetic acid production in the conventional feeders over time (p < .01). Hence, it was concluded that controlling sows’ feeding leads to improved feed intake for sows housed in hot ambient temperatures during the summer period