Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T09:11:15.087Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Growth performance and apparent nutrient digestibility in weaned piglets offered wheat-, barley- or sugar-beet pulp-based diets supplemented with food enzymes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

B. P. Gill*
Affiliation:
Animal Biology Division, Scottish Agricultural College, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn
J. Mellange
Affiliation:
Ecole National d’Ingenieurs des Travaux Agricoles, Clermont-Ferrand, Marmilhat 63 370, Lempdes, France
J. A. Rooke
Affiliation:
Animal Biology Division, Scottish Agricultural College, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn
*
Present address: Meat and Livestock Commission, PO Box 44, Winterhill House, Snowdon Drive, Milton Keynes MK6 1AX.
Get access

Abstract

Pig studies on non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) have mainly focused on finishing and breeding animals because their digestive capacity and ability to ferment fibre are considered greater than piglets. In this study, growth and nutrient digestibility, with particular reference to NSP constituent monomers, were evaluated in piglets offered contrasting sources of NSPs. The potential for enhancing growth performance and digestibility with exogenous food enzymes (xylanase, amylase, pectinase and beta-glucanase) was investigated. A total of 240 piglets weaned at 28 days of age, in groups of six, were allocated to six treatments in a 3×2 factorial design, diet type (W, B and SBP) by enzyme supplementation (–v. +). Diet W was wheat based and formulated to supply 14 MJ digestible energy (DE) per kg. In diets B and SBP, DE was reduced to 13·25 MJ/kg by replacing wheat with barley (708 g/kg) or with 185 g/kg dried unmolassed sugar beet pulp. Growth was monitored over 4 weeks. Digestibility of diets B–, B+, SBP– and SBP+ was evaluated in 16 piglets, in groups of four, using a 4×4 Latin-square design. In the growth study, mean initial and final piglet weights were 8·1 (s.e. 0·09) and 18·0 (s.e. 0·21) kg. Piglet health remained satisfactory and food intake averaged 523 (s.e. 6·7) g/day. There were no consistent and significant effects of diet type on food intake, live-weight gain or food conversion, except in week 1 when gain on diet W was higher than on diets B and SBP, 191 v. 150 v. 125 g/day, respectively (s.e.d. 20·0, P < 0·05). Enzyme supplements enhanced the conversion of food to gain over 4 weeks (1·56 v. 1·50:1, s.e.d. 0·030, P < 0·05). Piglets given diet SBP produced faeces with a lower dry-matter content (181 v. 246 g/kg, s.e.d. 10·8, P < 0·001) but with no visual evidence of a nutritionally induced diarrhoea. There were no significant differences in apparent faecal digestibility coefficients (AFDC) for dry matter, crude protein and gross energy between diets B and SBP. AFDC for soluble, insoluble and total NSP constituent monomers were higher (P < 0·001) in diet SBP. Soluble uronic acids were the most readily digested NSP constituents in diet SBP, showing a mean AFDC of 0·96 (s.e. 0·005). Apparent faecal digestibility was not an appropriate indicator for supplementary enzyme activity in the intact digestive tract of piglets given diets rich in fermentable NSPs. Piglets given the diets supplemented with enzymes excreted increased concentrations of urinary pentoses, especially arabinose (0·113 v. 0·136 mg/ml, s.e.d. 0·0107, P < 0·05). Urinary arabinose and xylose concentrations were also increased (V < 0·001) with feeding SBP, indicating that some of the microbially released NSP sugars escaped fermentation and were directly absorbed. In conclusion, piglets were able to use simple diets, containing high and contrasting sources of NSPs to support satisfactory rates of live-weight gain. Supplementation with NSP degrading enzymes enhanced the conversion of food to live-weight gain. Urinary NSP derived sugars provided indirect evidence of NSP hydrolysis by supplementary enzymes and gut microbes.

Type
Non-ruminant nutrition, behaviour and production
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Research Council. 1981. The nutrient requirements of pigs. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough, UK.Google Scholar
Aman, P. and Hesselman, K. 1984. Analysis of starch and other main constituents of cereal grains. Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research 14: 135139.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1984. Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 14th edition Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Brouns, F. Edwards, S. A. and English, P. R. 1995. Influence of fibrous feed ingredients on voluntary intake of dry sows. Animal Feed Science and Technology 54: 301313.Google Scholar
Dierick, N. and Decuypere, J. 1997. Microbial degradation of enzymie released non-starch polysaccharide constituents in the small intestine of the pig. Proceedings of the seventh international symposium on digestive physiology in pigs, European Association for Animal Production, Saint Malo, France, no. 88, pp. 421425.Google Scholar
Dierick, N. A. and Decuypere, J. A. 1994. Enzymes and growth in pigs. In Principles of pig science (ed. Cole, D. J. A. Wiseman, J. and Varley, M. A.), pp. 169195. Nottingham University Press, Nottingham.Google Scholar
Edwards, S. A., Taylor, A. G. and Harland, J. I. 1991. The inclusion of sugar beet pulp in diets for early weaned piglets. Animal Production 52: 599600 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Englyst, H. N. and Cummings, J. H. 1988. Improved methods for measurement of dietary fiber as non-starch polysaccharides in plant foods. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 71: 808814.Google ScholarPubMed
Gill, B. P., Taylor, A. G., Hardy, B. and Perrott, J. G. 1992. The effect of using fibrous foods as nutrient diluents on the carcass quality and performance of finishing pigs fed ad libitum. Animal Production 54: 451 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Graham, H., Hesselman, K. and Aman, P. 1986. The influence of wheat bran and sugar-beet pulp on the digestibility of dietary components in a cereal-based pig diet. Journal of Nutrition 116: 242251.Google Scholar
Henry, R. J. 1985. A comparison of the non-starch carbohydrates in cereal grains. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 36: 12431253.Google Scholar
Hoeble, C, Barry, J. L., David, A. and Delort-Laval, J. 1989. Rapid acid hydrolysis of plant cell wall polysaccharides and simplified quantitative determination of their neutral monosaccharides by gas-liquid chromatography. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 37: 360367.Google Scholar
Kay, R. M., Simmins, P. H. and Harland, J. I. 1990. The use of molassed sugar beet feed in growing pig diets and the effect of inclusion rates on subsequent performance. Animal Production 50: 591 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Longland, A.C, Carruthers, J. and Low, A. G. 1994. The ability of piglets 4 to 8 weeks old to digest and perform on diets containing two contrasting sources of non-starch polysaccharide. Animal Production 58: 405410.Google Scholar
Longland, A.C, Close, W. H. and Low, A. G. 1991. The rôle of the large intestine in the utilization of foods containing non-starch polysaccharides. Animal Production 52: 600601 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Longland, A.C. and Low, A. G. 1989. Digestion of diets containing molassed or plain sugar-beet pulp by growing pigs. Animal Feed Science and Technology 23: 6777.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 1982. The feeding stuffs {sampling and analysis) regulations (amendment 1985), p. 76. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. 1993. Prediction of the energy values of compound feeding stuffs for farm animals. Summary of the recommendations of a working party sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food v. 1285, pp. 1617. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Pluske, J. R., Pethick, D. W. and Mullan, B.P. 1998. Differential effects of feeding fermentable carbohydrate to growing pigs on performance, gut size and slaughter characteristics. Animal Science 67: 147156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pluske, J. R., Siba, P. M., Pethick, D. W., Durmic, Z., Mullan, .B P. and Hampson, D. J. 1996. The incidence of swine dysentery in pigs can be reduced by feeding diets that limit the amount of fermentable substrate entering the large intestine. Journal of Nutrition 126: 29202933.Google ScholarPubMed
Pond, W. G., Varel, V. H., Dickson, J. S. and Haschek, W. M. 1989. Comparative response of swine and rats to high-fibre or high-protein diets. Journal of Animal Science 67: 716723.Google Scholar
Robertson, J. B. and Van Soest, P. J. 1991. The detergent system of analysis and its application to human foods. In The analysis of dietary fibre in foods (ed. James, W. P. T. and Theander, O.). Marcell Dekker, New York.Google Scholar
Rombouts, F. M. and Thibaults, J. E 1986. Feruloylated pectic substances from sugar-beet pulp. Carbohydrate Research 154: 177187.Google Scholar
Savory, C. J. 1992. Gastrointestinal morphology and absorption of monosaccharides in fowls conditioned to different types and levels of dietary fibre. British Journal of Nutrition 67: 7789.Google Scholar
Schutte, J. B. 1991. Nutritional value and physiological effects of D-xylose and L-arabinose in poultry and pigs. Ph.D. thesis, Agricultural University of Wageningen. Google Scholar
Schutte, J. B. 1992. [Digestion and benefits from the hydrolysis of non-starch carbohydrates by pigs and poultry] Proceedings of a conference on NSPs in animal nutrition, 10 December 1992 no. 20, Wageningen, Netherlands, pp. 7394.Google Scholar
Schutte, J.B. Beelen, G. M., Derksen, G. B. and Wiebenga, J. 1991. Digestion and utilisation of D-xylose in pigs as affected by age, frequency of feeding and dietary level. Proceedings of the fifth international symposium on digestive physiology in pigs, European Association for Animal Production, Wageningen, The Netherlands, no. 54, pp. 411421.Google Scholar
Schutte, J.B. Jong, J.de and Weerden, E. J.von. 1992. Nutritional implications of L-arabinose in pigs. British Journal of Nutrition 68: 195207.Google Scholar
Siba, P. M., Pethick, D. W. and Hampson, D. J. 1996. Pigs experimentally infected with Serpulina hyodysenteriae can be protected from developing swine dysentry by feeding them a highly digestible diet. Epidemiology of Infection 116: 207216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, A. E. and Langen, H. de. 1960. Measurement of feed intake by grazing cattle and sheep. VII. Modified wet digestion method for determination of chromic oxide in faeces. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 3: 314319.Google Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. 1963. Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. II. A rapid method for the determination of fiber and lignin. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 46: 829835.Google Scholar
Vestergaard, E.-M. and Danielsen, V. 1998. Dietary fibre for sows: effects of large amounts of soluble and insoluble fibres in the pregnancy period on the performance of sows during three reproductive cycles. Animal Science 67: 355362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yule, M. A. and Fuller, M. E. 1992. The utilization of orally administered D-xylose, L-arabinose and D-galacturonic acid in the pig. International Jounal of Food Science and Nutrition 43: 3140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, J. Q., Fowler, V R. and Fuller, M. E. 1990. Digestion of unmolassed sugar-beet pulp in young growing pigs and implications for the growth-supporting values of fermented energy. Animal Production 50: 531539.Google Scholar