Effects of the ratio of unsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid on the growth performance, carcass and meat quality of finishing pigs

The effects on finishing pigs (80–100 kg BW) fed diets supplemented with oil sources containing different ratios of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids (UFA:SFA ratio) were evaluated in 15 barrows and 15 gilts (Duroc × Large White × Landrace). Three experimental diets were evaluated using a randomized complete block design, with broken rice, soybean meal and rice bran as the main feedstuffs in the control diet. Diets 2 and 3 consisted of the control diet supplemented with 3% oil, with UFA:SFA ratios of 2.5:1 and 5:1, respectively. Overall, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) found in the average daily gain (ADG) of the pigs fed the treatment diets; however, the pigs fed the control diet and diet 3 had better (P  0.05) among the treatment groups with regard to the carcass quality of the pigs; however, it was found that the gilts had greater (P < 0.01) loin eye areas than the barrows fed diets 2 and 3 and the loin eye area of pig fed diet 2 was the largest (P < 0.05). In the case of the meat quality parameters, it was clearly found that the pigs fed the control diet had a greater (P < 0.05) lightness (L∗) in the meat colour, and the lowest cooking loss was found in the pigs fed the diet supplemented with fat containing the UFA:SFA ratio of 5:1. Overall, the dietary treatment did not significantly affect the drip loss, thawing loss and shear force of the pork. In conclusion, the supplementation of oil with UFA:SFA ratios of 2.5:1 and 5:1 has the potential to improve pork quality

Use of Lemon Grass Oil as Feed Additive in Weanling Pig Diets

Abstract An experiment was conducted at Chiang Mai University to determine the use of lemon grass oil as additive in weanling pigs. 28 days old weaned piglets were randomly distributed into 5 groups of 6, 4, 5, 4 and 4 animals each in a completely randomised design (CRD). The piglets were housed in individual cages. Diet 1 (control diet) was a basal diet containing corn-soybean meal. Diet 2 was a basal diet supplemented with 0.75 g tetracycline /kg basal diet. diet 3, 4 and 5 were basal diets supplemented with lemon grass oil at 1, 2.5 and 5 ml/kg diet respectively.. Diets were formulated according to NRC (1998) requirements. The productive performance and faecal characteristics of the pigs were determined beginning at 7 ± 0.8 kg BW until 20 ± 0.8 kg BW. Average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of pigs fed diet 1 to 5 were 420, 390, 330, 320 and 380 g/d and 1.89, 1.88, 1.81, 1.87 and 1.73, respectively. There was no significant difference of ADG among treatments. The inclusion of lemon grass oil 5 ml/kg diet tended to improve FCR of piglets. The pigs fed control diet had higher average daily feed intake (ADFI) (p&lt;0.05) than pigs fed diets containing 1 and 2.5 ml lemon grass oil /kg diet (diet 3 and 4). There were no differences (p&gt;0.05) in ADFI of pigs fed diet containing lemon grass oils (diet 3, 4 and 5). The faecal score (shape and colour) of the pigs fed diet 4 and 5 was better than in pigs fed other diets (p&lt;0.05). The results suggest that lemon grass oil can substitute tetracycline as feed additive

THE USE OF CRUDE PALM OIL IN FINISHING PIGS’ DIET: EFFECTS ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of including crude palm oil (CPO)in the diet of finishing pigs in terms of growth performance and nutrientdigestibility. In the first experiment, 40 barrows and 40 gilts(Duroc×LargeWhite×Landrace) were divided into five groups using a randomizedcomplete block design. CPO, soybean oil (SBO) and poultry fat (PF) were mixedand divided into CPOmix11 (CPO 50% + PF 50%), CPOmix13 (CPO 50% + SBO50%), CPOmix21 (CPO 75% + PF 25%) and CPOmix23 (CPO 83% + PF 17%).Each group of pigs was randomly fed two diets at 50-80 and 80-100 kgBW. Group1 comprised the pigs fed diet10 (without oil inclusion) and diet20 (without oilinclusion). Group 2 comprised the pigs fed diet11 (1% CPOmix11) and diet21 (1%CPOmix21). Group 3 comprised the pigs fed diet13 (3% CPOmix13) and diet23(3% CPOmix23). Group 4 comprised the pigs fed diet10 and diet 21. Group 5comprised the pigs fed diet10 and diet23. The results showed that the pigs feddiet23 (Group 5) at 80-100 kgBW tended to have the greatest performance andlowest feed cost. In the second experiment, nutrient digestibility was examined insix barrows (initial 50 kgBW) using a 3×3 double Latin square design. Each set oftwo pigs was randomly fed diet10, diet11 or diet13. The highest (P<0.01)digestibility of dry matter, protein, crude fiber and ash and the greatest (P<0.01)digestible energy and metabolizable energy were found in diet13. The inclusion of3% CPOmix23 in the diet at80-100 kgBW might improve finishing pigperformance, and the 3% of CPOmix13 in the diet improved nutrient digestibility

Effects of Heat-Killed Lactobacillus plantarum L-137 Supplementation on Growth Performance, Blood Profiles, Intestinal Morphology, and Immune Gene Expression in Pigs

In the present study, the effects of dietary heat-killed Lactobacillus plantarum L-137 (HK L-137) on the productive performance, intestinal morphology, and cytokine gene expression of suckling-to-fattening pigs were investigated. A total of 100 suckling pigs [(Large White &times; Landrace) &times; Duroc; 4.5 &plusmn; 0.54 kg initial body weight (BW)] were used and assigned to each of the four dietary treatments as follows: (1) a control diet with antibiotics as a growth promoter (AGP) from the suckling phase to the grower phase and no supplement in the finisher phases; (2) a control diet without antibiotics as a growth promoter (NAGP); (3) a control diet with HK L-137 at 20 mg/kg from the suckling phase to the starter phase and no supplement from the grower phase to the finisher phases (HKL1); and (4) a control diet with HK L-137 at 20 mg/kg from the suckling phase to the weaner phase, at 4 mg/kg from the starter phase to the finisher 1 phase, and no supplement in the finisher 2 phase (HKL2). During the weaner&ndash;starter period, the pigs fed on the AGP and HKL2 diets showed significantly higher weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) than those in the NAGP group (p &lt; 0.05). The pigs in the AGP, HKL1, and HKL2 groups showed greater ADG than those in the NAGP groups (p &lt; 0.05) throughout the grower&ndash;finisher period. The suckling pigs in the HKL1 and HKL2 groups showed a higher platelet count (484,500 and 575,750) than in the others (p &lt; 0.05); however, there were no significant differences in the other hematological parameters among the treatment groups. The relative mRNA expression level of IFN- &szlig; of the suckling and starter pigs were significantly higher in the HKL1 and HKL2 groups than in the others (p &lt; 0.05), while the IFN-&gamma; showed the highest level in the HKL2 suckling pigs (p &lt; 0.05). These results demonstrate that a HK L-137 supplementation could stimulate the immune response in suckling and starter pigs and promote the growth performance in finishing pigs

Effects of Heat-Killed <i>Lactobacillus plantarum</i> L-137 Supplementation on Growth Performance, Blood Profiles, Intestinal Morphology, and Immune Gene Expression in Pigs

In the present study, the effects of dietary heat-killed Lactobacillus plantarum L-137 (HK L-137) on the productive performance, intestinal morphology, and cytokine gene expression of suckling-to-fattening pigs were investigated. A total of 100 suckling pigs [(Large White × Landrace) × Duroc; 4.5 ± 0.54 kg initial body weight (BW)] were used and assigned to each of the four dietary treatments as follows: (1) a control diet with antibiotics as a growth promoter (AGP) from the suckling phase to the grower phase and no supplement in the finisher phases; (2) a control diet without antibiotics as a growth promoter (NAGP); (3) a control diet with HK L-137 at 20 mg/kg from the suckling phase to the starter phase and no supplement from the grower phase to the finisher phases (HKL1); and (4) a control diet with HK L-137 at 20 mg/kg from the suckling phase to the weaner phase, at 4 mg/kg from the starter phase to the finisher 1 phase, and no supplement in the finisher 2 phase (HKL2). During the weaner–starter period, the pigs fed on the AGP and HKL2 diets showed significantly higher weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) than those in the NAGP group (p p p IFN- ß of the suckling and starter pigs were significantly higher in the HKL1 and HKL2 groups than in the others (p IFN-γ showed the highest level in the HKL2 suckling pigs (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that a HK L-137 supplementation could stimulate the immune response in suckling and starter pigs and promote the growth performance in finishing pigs

Effect of Bacillus toyonensis BCT-7112T supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune-related gene expression, and gut microbiome in Barbary ducks

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Bacillus toyonensis BCT-7112T supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune-related gene expression, and the cecal microbiota of meat ducks. A total of 150 one-day-old male Barbary ducks were divided into 3 groups with 5 replicates (n = 10 ducks per replicate) by completely randomized design and offered diets supplemented with the commercial product Toyocerin (containing 1 × 109 B. toyonensis BCT-7112T viable spores/g product) at the levels of 0, 500, or 1,000 mg/kg (0, 500, or 1,000 ppm), respectively, for 8 wk. The results showed that although ducks in the 500 ppm B. toyonensis BCT-7112T group displayed numerically better values (e.g., weight gain and feed conversion ratio) than those in the control group, the growth performance of ducks fed diets supplemented with B. toyonensis BCT-7112T did not differ significantly from that of the control group (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the intestinal mucosal morphology of ducks across the experimental groups (P > 0.05). However, ducks in the 500 ppm B. toyonensis BCT-7112T group showed a trend of greater values, for example, villus height per crypt depth of duodenum (P = 0.16) and ileum (P = 0.12) compared with those in the control group. The relative expression of immune-related genes, for example, interferon (IFN) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the meat duck spleen was significantly lower in both B. toyonensis BCT-7112T groups at 14 d and 35 d than in the control group (P < 0.05). Beta diversity analysis of the cecal microbiota of ducks in either the 500 ppm or the 1,000 ppm B. toyonensis BCT-7112T group showed to have higher diversity than that in the control group, where at the phylum level, Bacteroidetes was the most abundant, followed by Firmicutes, and at the genus level, Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, and Ruminococcaceae were the top 3 most abundant genera. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that 500 ppm supplementation with B. toyonensis BCT-7112T in duck diets can reduce proinflammatory cytokine gene expression, improve immunological function, and increase the variety of microbial communities in the ceca of meat-type ducks