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Two experiments evaluated different fat sources and levels on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and economic impact in commercial finishing pigs. In experiment 1, 2,160 pigs (337 × 1,050, PIC; initially 37.3 ± 0.93 kg) were used. Pens of pigs were blocked by initial body weight and randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments. Three of the four dietary treatments included: 0%, 1%, and 3% choice white grease. The final treatment contained no added fat until pigs were approximately 100 kg, and then a diet containing 3% fat was fed until marketing. Experimental diets were fed over four phases and were corn–soybean meal based with 40% distillers dried grains with solubles. Overall, increasing choice white grease decreased (linear, P = 0.006) average daily feed intake (ADFI) and increased (linear, P = 0.006) G:F. Pigs fed 3% fat only during the late-finishing phase (~100 to 129 kg) had similar G:F compared to pigs fed 3% for the entire study during the late-finishing phase, and intermediate G:F overall. Increasing fat tended to increase (linear, P = 0.068) hot carcass weight (HCW). Feed cost increased (linear, P ≤ 0.005) and income over feed cost decreased (linear, P ≤ 0.041) as choice white grease increased. In Experiment 2, 2,011 pigs (PIC 1,050 × DNA 600; initially 28.3 ± 0.53 kg) were used. Pens of pigs were blocked by location in the barn and randomly assigned to one of five dietary treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial with main effects of fat source (choice white grease or corn oil) and level (1% or 3% of the diet) and a control diet with no added fat. Overall, increasing fat, regardless of source, increased (linear, P < 0.001) average daily gain (ADG), decreased (linear, P = 0.013) ADFI, and increased (linear, P < 0.001) G:F. Increasing fat increased (linear, P ≤ 0.016) HCW, carcass yield, and backfat depth. There was a fat source × level interaction (P < 0.001) in carcass fat iodine value (IV), where IV increased to a greater extent in pigs fed corn oil with only a small increase in IV in pigs fed diets with choice white grease. In conclusion, these experiments suggest that increasing fat from 0% to 3%, regardless of source, produced variable responses in ADG but consistently improved G:F. Increasing fat increased HCW, carcass yield, and backfat depth, but feeding diets containing corn oil increased carcass IV. With the ingredient prices used, the improvement in growth performance did not justify the extra diet cost from increasing fat from 0% to 3% in most situations.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of Aspergillus oryzae prebiotic (AOP) on nutrient digestibility in growing pigs fed high-fiber diets. Eighteen growing barrows (initial body weight = 50.6 ± 4.9 kg) were surgically equipped with a T-cannula at the distal ileum. Corn and soybean meal-based diets were formulated with fiber from cereal grain byproducts corn (distillers dried grains with solubles, DDGS), rice (rice bran, RB), or wheat (wheat middlings, WM) to meet or exceed all nutrient requirements for 50 to 75 kg growing pigs. Three additional diets were formulated to contain 0.05% AOP supplemented at the expense of corn in the DDGS diet (DDGS + AOP), RB diet (RB + AOP), and WM diet (WM + AOP). All diets contained 0.5% of titanium dioxide as an indigestible marker. Pigs were allotted randomly to a triplicated 6 × 2 Youden square design with six diets and two successive periods. Ileal digesta and fecal samples were collected for 2 d after a 21-d adaptation period, and dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ash were analyzed to calculate apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD). Standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) was calculated by correcting AID with basal endogenous AA losses from the same set of pigs. Pigs fed the DDGS+AOP diet had greater (P < 0.05) AID of EE compared with those fed the DDGS diet. However, supplementation of AOP did not (P > 0.05) affect AID of GE, DM, CP, NDF, ash or SID of AA of any high-fiber diet. Supplementation of 0.05% AOP increased (P < 0.05) ATTD of DM, GE, CP, NDF, and ash in DDGS, RB, and WM diets. Diet digestible energy was 35 kcal/kg greater (P < 0.05) in pigs fed AOP supplemented diets compared with those fed diets without AOP. In conclusion, supplementation of AOP increased ATTD of nutrients and energy value in high-fiber diets containing DDGS, RB, or WM.

The objectives were to determine how high levels (> 2.5 mg/kg diet) of deoxynivalenol (DON), in conjunction with other naturally occurring mycotoxins (MTX) would impact growth, intestinal integrity, and oxidative status, with or without a mitigation strategy, in nursery pigs. One-hundred and five pigs (5.5 ± 0.52 kg) were randomly allotted to 35 pens and fed dietary treatments for 45 d. Treatments were factorially arranged with the inclusion of MTX being low (L-MTX; < 1 mg/kg diet) or high (H-MTX; > 2.5 mg/kg diet) in combination with no mitigation strategy or the inclusion of a mitigation strategy (Biofix® Plus, BPL; 1.5 mg/kg diet). There was no interaction between MTX level and BPL inclusion on average daily gain (ADG) or gain to feed ratio (GF), (P > 0.10). Compared to pigs fed diets containing L-MTX, feeding pigs diets containing H-MTX decreased ADG and GF (P < 0.05). The addition of BPL had no effect on ADG (P > 0.10), but improved GF (P = 0.09). There was an interaction between MTX and BPL on average daily feed intake (ADFI), where the addition of BPL had no effect on ADFI of pigs fed L-MTX diets but improved ADFI of pigs fed H-MTX diets (P = 0.09). An interaction was detected between MTX and BPL on protein oxidation as measured by plasma protein carbonyls (PC, P = 0.01), where the inclusion of BPL decreased plasma PC in pigs fed H-MTX diets to a greater extent than pigs fed the L-MTX diets. There was no interaction between MTX and BPL, or an effect of MTX or BPL on DNA damage as measured by 8-hydroxy-2ʹdexoxyguanosine (P > 0.10). There was no interaction between MTX and BPL, or a BPL effect on lipid damage as measured by thiobarbituic acid reactive substances (TBARS, P > 0.10), but pigs fed diets containing H-MTX exhibited lower concentrations of plasma TBARS (P = 0.07) compared to pigs fed L-MTX diets. There was no interaction between MTX and BPL, or an effect of MTX or BPL on plasma lactulose and mannitol ratio as a measure of intestinal permeability (P > 0.10). In conclusion, feeding H-MTX decreased ADG and GF, decreased plasma TBARS, but did not affect plasma 8-hydroxy-2ʹdexoxyguanosine or plasma LM ratio. The inclusion of a mitigation strategy improved ADFI when pigs were fed H-MTX diets and improved GF regardless of MTX level. Addition of a mitigation strategy also reduced plasma protein damage but did not affect indicators of DNA or lipid damage or affect gastrointestinal integrity.

In order to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Ile:Lys requirement in finishing diets containing 20% DDGS, a 56-d study was conducted utilizing 2,268 pigs (DNA 600 x Topigs Norsvin 70, initially 82.3 kg). A total of six dietary treatments were fed, including a standard corn-soybean meal (SBM) diet and five diets containing 20% DDGS with SID Ile:Lys ratios of 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, and 75%. Dietary treatments were assigned to pens, incompletely balancing for previous treatment, with each treatment being replicated 14 times. Pair-wise comparisons were used to evaluate the impact of dietary treatment on performance and carcass traits, whereas single degree of freedom orthogonal polynomials were used to evaluate dose response of SID Ile:Lys in 20% DDGS diets. Increasing the SID Ile:Lys ratio in diets containing 20% DDGS did not impact pig growth performance criteria in a quadratic or linear fashion (P ≥ 0.18). However, increasing the SID Ile:Lys ratio in 20% DDGS diets resulted in decreased back fat (BF; Quadratic, P = 0.01), increased loin depth (Quadratic, P = 0.03), and tended to increase percent lean (Quadratic, P = 0.07) with optimal carcass parameters occurring when 65% SID Ile:Lys was supplied in 20% DDGS diets. Pigs fed the corn-SBM diet had a similar final body weight (BW; P = 0.26) and cumulative average daily gain (ADG; P = 0.12) compared to pigs fed a 20% DDGS diet containing 70% SID Ile:Lys ratio and 3% greater cumulative average daily feed intake (ADFI) compared to pigs receiving diets with SID Ile:Lys ratios of 65% and 75% (P ≤ 0.01). In conclusion, these results suggest that when feeding 20% DDGS in late finishing swine diets, a SID Ile:Lys ratio of 70% should be utilized when attempting to achieve similar overall growth performance relative to a corn-SBM diet.The use of corn by-products, such as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), from the ethanol industry in swine rations is a common practice when economical. However, the inclusion of these by-products can potentially impact the nutrient requirements of pigs. It is important to understand how one should adjust diets to meet these changes in nutrient requirements and to minimize the reduction in growth performance. Previous research has indicated that the excess of a specific amino acid, leucine, can negatively impact the performance of pigs through the increased breakdown of other amino acids, more specifically valine and isoleucine. This increased breakdown of valine and isoleucine can result in inadequate amounts being available for protein deposition and, therefore, reduce growth performance. In the present study, late finishing pigs fed a diet containing 20% DDGS required a ratio of 70% between the amino acids isoleucine and lysine, on a digestible basis, to perform similarly to pigs receiving a standard corn soybean meal diet. Further research is necessary to more accurately define the optimal dietary isoleucine level for finishing pigs when fed 20% DDGS.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of particle size (PS) and levels of phytase supplementation on the apparent (ATTD) and standardized (STTD) total tract digestibility of P in hybrid rye fed to growing pigs. Thirty-six growing barrows (23.6 ± 1.5 kg initial BW) were individually housed in metabolism crates and randomly allotted to one of six dietary treatments to give six replicates per treatment. The six dietary treatments were arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial with main effects of PS and phytase supplementation levels (0, 500, or 2,500 FTU/kg). Hybrid rye was ground using a hammermill mounted with 4.0- and 3.2-mm screens to obtain material with coarse and fine PS, respectively. Pigs were fed experimental diets for 11 d, including 5 d for adaptation and 6 d for total collection of feces. All data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with PS, phytase, and their interaction as fixed effects. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to test linear and quadratic effects of phytase level in both coarse and fine hybrid rye diets. The ATTD and STTD of P were greater (P0.05) in diets with fine than in those with coarse hybrid rye. Increasing levels of phytase supplementation linearly (P0.01) and quadratically (P0.01) improved the ATTD and STTD of P in hybrid rye diets. There were no interaction effects between PS and phytase supplementation on the ATTD and STTD of P in hybrid rye diets. In conclusion, PS reduction improved the digestibility of P in hybrid rye, and supplementing increasing levels of phytase improved P digestibility in linear and quadratic manner in growing pigs fed hybrid rye diets.Cereal grains such as corn, wheat, and barley are widely used as an energy source in swine diets. However, due to their recent soaring prices, it is necessary to use alternative feedstuffs for swine. New commercial hybrid rye with improved ergot resistance and higher yield has been developed. This hybrid rye contains similar energy content as barley and sorghum, making it a promising ingredient for pigs. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient in swine diets for bone growth and cellular functions. However, most phosphorus in hybrid rye is bound to phytic acid, which is not digested well by pigs. The excessive phosphorus in swine manure may runoff and cause environmental problems such as eutrophication. Increasing phosphorus digestibility can decrease its excretion in pigs. Therefore, in the current study, we formulated six diets including fine or coarse hybrid rye particle size supplemented with three levels of phytase to determine the effects of particle size and phytase supplementation on phosphorus digestibility in hybrid rye. Our results showed that fine particle size and supplementing increasing levels of phytase could improve the phosphorus digestibility in growing pigs fed hybrid rye diets.

Dietary cation–anion difference (DCAD), calculated as Na+ + K+ – Cl− in mEq/kg of the diet, represents the influence that monovalent cations and anions from these minerals have on the acid–base status of the animal. However, the recommended range of DCAD for optimal grow-finish swine performance is variable, which may indicate an interaction between DCAD and other ingredients. The hypothesis for this study was that the addition of potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) to increase diet DCAD when high levels of l-Lys HCl (>0.35% diet) are used may potentially improve growth performance. A total of 1,944 pigs (PIC L337 × 1050, initially 35.2 ± 0.85 kg) were used in a 120-d study. Pens of pigs were blocked by BW and randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of KHCO3 (0% or 0.4%), and l-Lys HCl level (low or high). l-Lys HCl was included between 0.13% and 0.21% in low diets, and between 0.36% and 0.43% in high diets. There were 27 pigs per pen and 18 replicates per treatment. Treatment diets were corn-soybean meal-based and formulated in four dietary phases (35–60 kg, 60–85 kg, 85–105 kg, and 105–130 kg). Dietary treatments were formulated such that in each phase the diet containing a low level of l-Lys HCl without KHCO3 and the diet containing a high level of l-Lys HCl with KHCO3 had similar calculated DCAD values (169–232 mEq/kg). Additionally, the diet with a low level of l-Lys HCl with KHCO3 was formulated to have the highest DCAD in each phase (220–281 mEq/kg), while the diet with a high level of l-Lys HCl without KHCO3 was formulated to have the lowest DCAD (118–182 mEq/kg). Overall, there was no evidence (P > 0.10) for a KHCO3 × l-Lys HCl interaction or main effect for final BW or any observed growth response or carcass characteristics. The results of this study suggest that supplementing KHCO3 to finishing pig diets with either high or low levels of l-Lys HCl and the corresponding changes in DCAD values did not impact growth performance or carcass characteristics.

A total of 2,430 pigs (DNA 600 × Topigs Norsvin 70, initially 39.4 kg) were used in a 28-d trial to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Val:Lys requirement for pigs fed with diets containing 30% DDGS. Treatments included five diets containing 30% DDGS with SID Val:Lys ratios of 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, and 80%, plus a corn soybean meal (SBM) diet, for a total of six dietary treatments. Diets were formulated to be isocaloric through the inclusion of fat and to contain equal amounts of SID Lys within phase. Pens were assigned to dietary treatment in a randomized complete block design with initial body weight (BW) as the random blocking factor. Each dietary treatment was replicated 15 times and pens contained 27 pigs, balanced for sex. Increasing the SID Val:Lys ratio in diets containing 30% DDGS increased (Quadratic; P ≤ 0.007) 14-d BW, final BW, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain:feed (G:F) for all periods. Providing an SID Val:Lys ratio of 75% resulted in the heaviest 14-d BW and final BW as well as greater ADG and ADFI of pigs fed with 30% DDGS for all periods. The G:F response was maximized when an SID Val:Lys ratio of 70% was provided from day 0 to 14 while an SID Val:Lys ratio of 75% maximized G:F from day 14 to 28 and for the cumulative period. The SID Val:Lys requirement was estimated at 66.6% (95% CI [65.9, 67.4]), 65.7 (95% CI: [64.8, 66.5]), and 68.4% (95% CI [66.0, 70.8]) for ADG, ADFI, and G:F, respectively, using the straight broken line (SBL) method and 69.9% (95% CI [68.2, 71.5]), 67.6 (95% CI [65.4, 69.8]), and 72.8% (95% CI [69.8, 75.8]) for the quadratic broken line (QBL) method. Pigs fed the corn-SBM diet had heavier 14-d BW, final BW, and greater ADG, ADFI, G:F (P ≤ 0.032) compared to pigs fed diets containing 30% DDGS, except for cumulative ADFI compared to pigs receiving 75% SID Val:Lys (P = 0.167). In conclusion, these results suggest that when feeding 30% DDGS during the growing period, an SID Val:Lys ratio of 68% would yield more than 99% and 97% of the maximum ADG and G:F response for the 39 to 68 kg pigs. However, growth performance of pigs fed diets containing 30% DDGS did not equate to pigs consuming the corn-SBM diet regardless of the SID Val:Lys ratio.Understanding the nutrient requirements of pigs across various conditions is important to determine the most economical method of feeding pigs. When feeding pigs corn byproducts from the ethanol industry, such as dried distiller grains with solubles (DDGS), the growth performance of pigs decreases. This is thought to be due to the composition of the dietary protein, more specifically the amino acid concentration of the diet. In the present study, one specific amino acid, valine, was incrementally increased in diets containing 30% DDGS. The growth performance of pigs increased when digestible valine increase until a ratio of 68% was reached between digestible valine and the amino acid lysine. These results indicate that the digestible valine requirement for pigs between 39 and 68 kg of body weight is 68% of the lysine requirement. However, when growth performance of pigs fed with 30% DDGS was compared to a standard corn soybean meal diet, pigs fed with the standard corn soybean meal diet had greater performance, regardless of digestible valine level. More research is required to understand why the addition of 30% DDGS in pig diets negatively impacts the growth performance relative to a standard corn soybean meal diet.

This study investigated whether bamboo leaf extract (BLE) could improve the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and inhibit hepatic apoptosis in suckling piglets. Sixty-four suckling piglets were orally gavaged with vehicle (CON group) or 100, 200, or 300 mg BLE/kg body weight (BL, BM, and BH groups) at 3 d of age for 21 d (n = 8). The results showed that BLE treatment had no effects on the growth performance (P0.05). Compared with the CON group, the BM and BH groups decreased (P0.05) the jejunal and hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. Supplementation with BLE increased antioxidant enzymes activities and the expressions of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and several targeted genes in the jejunum and liver of suckling piglets. The hepatic apoptosis rate was lower (P0.05) in BLE treatment than in the CON group. Compared with the CON group, the BLE groups showed increased (P0.05) mRNA levels of B-cell-lymphoma protein 2 (BCL-2), whereas decreased (P0.05) BCL-2-associated X (BAX) and cysteine aspartate specific protease-3 (caspase-3) mRNA levels. The results of protein expressions of BCL-2 and caspase-3 were consistent with those of mRNA levels. Altogether, our results indicated that BLE intervention can improve the antioxidant capacity and inhibit hepatic apoptosis in suckling piglets.Neonatal piglets suffer from severe birth oxidative stress due to the immaturity of their antioxidant system. In vitro and in vivo studies have now shown that the function of the antioxidant system can be modulated by bamboo leaf extract (BLE). However, the effects of BLE on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and hepatic apoptosis have not been explored in suckling piglets. The study’s objective was to assess the effects of BLE on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and hepatic apoptosis in suckling piglets. Suckling piglets were orally gavaged with vehicle (CON group) or 100, 200, or 300 mg BLE/kg body weight at 3 d of age for 21 d. Compared to the CON group, BLE treatment had no effects on the growth performance; BLE treatment increased antioxidant enzymes activities and antioxidant-related genes at both the gene and protein expressions in the jejunum and liver of suckling piglets; BLE treatment also inhibited hepatic apoptosis, including hepatic apoptosis rate and the expressions of apoptosis-related genes. These results indicate the efficacy of BLE to improve antioxidant capacity and inhibit hepatic apoptosis in suckling piglets, demonstrating that BLE has a certain protective effect on suckling piglets at the postnatal stage.

Myo-inositol is a breakdown product of phytate produced in the gut through the action of phytase. Although the effect of phytase-released phosphorus (P) on growth performance of animals has been well characterized, there is still little understanding of the effect of myo-inositol. The first objective of this study was to determine the effects of added myo-inositol to a phytate-rich low-protein diet on growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) in growing piglets. The second objective was to determine whether myo-inositol could directly affect intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and function for which we used intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). A total of 128 weanling piglets were allotted to four dietary treatments consisting of eight replicates per treatment and four piglets per replicate in a randomized complete block design for 4 wk. The four experimental diets comprised the positive control [PC; 20% crude protein (CP)], negative control (NC; 17% CP), negative control plus 2.0g/kg myo-inositol (NC+INO; 17% CP), and negative control plus 3000FTU/kg phytase (NC+PHY; 17% CP). Average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG), and gain-feed ratio (G: F) were recorded. Phytase supplementation in the protein-deficient NC diet increased the G:F ratio (P0.05) without myo-inositol effects on growth performance. Phosphorus digestibility in the phytase-supplemented group increased compared to the PC, NC, and NC+INO groups, whereas plasma myo-inositol concentration was significantly higher (P0.05) in the NC+INO group. Due to the lack of myo-inositol effect on growth performance, an additional in vitro study was conducted to determine the direct effect of myo-inositol on the intestinal epithelium that might not be reflected in growth performance. Myo-inositol increased the mRNA abundance of selected nutrient transporters in a concentration-dependent manner (P0.05). Myo-inositol also enhanced barrier integrity in the IPEC-J2 monolayer by increasing the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) with reduced paracellular permeability of FITC-dextran (P0.05). In conclusion, despite the lack of myo-inositol effect on animal performance, the in vitro data indicate that myo-inositol may directly regulate gut barrier integrity. Addition of myo-inositol to pig diets at levels that enhance intestinal epithelial cell function may result in effects on growth performance and gut health of pigs.After weaning, piglets undergo various kinds of stress that limit feed intake and nutrient digestibility. Much of the effects are strongest at the still-developing gastrointestinal tract where active feed digestion and nutrient uptake takes place. To sustain intestinal development and function during this stage of life, several nutrient additives are included in diets to promote intestinal function and nutrient uptake. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of phytase and myo-inositol on growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) in growing piglets and determine whether they had any effects on integrity in a cell culture model. In the animal study, phytase supplementation in the protein-reduced diets enhanced the rate of feed conversion, whereas the effect of myo-inositol on growth was not pronounced. Also, plasma concentration increased with myo-inositol addition. Under cell culture condition, myo-inositol enhanced the machinery for nutrients uptake and protein formation of the cells in a fashion that is dependent on its concentration. This study provides information on the potential role of myo-inositol on growth performance of growing piglets.

Increased fermentable carbohydrates (e.g., β-glucan, amylose) may increase endogenous losses including for P, and thereby reduce apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of P. The present study assessed effects of barley cultivars varying in fermentable starch and fiber on apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and ATTD of P, myo-inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakis (dihydrogen phosphate; InsP6) and Ca, and standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P and the presence of lower inositol phosphates (InsP) compared to wheat. In a 6 (period) × 5 (diet) Youden square, seven ileal-cannulated barrows (initial BW, 27.7 kg) were fed diets containing 80% of one of five cereal grains differing in amylose, β-glucan, and fiber content: 1) high-fermentable, high-β-glucan, hull-less barley (HFB); 2) high-fermentable, high-amylose, hull-less barley (HFA); 3) moderate-fermentable, hull-less barley (MFB); 4) low-fermentable, hulled barley (LFB); and 5) low-fermentable, Canadian Western Red Spring wheat (LFW). On dry matter (DM) basis, cereal grains contained between 0.32% to 0.53% total P and 0.24% to 0.50% InsP6-P. The InsP6-2-P was calculated as the sum of all detected InsP-P (InsP6-P to InsP2-P) in the sample. The P release of degraded InsP-P was calculated by using the following equation: sum InsP6-2-Pdiet (g/kg DM) × (AID or ATTD sum InsP6-2-P (%)/ 100). Data were analyzed using a mixed model with diet as fixed effect, and pig and period as random effects. On DM basis, diets contained 41.4% to 50.6% starch, 0.88% to 8.54% β-glucan, 0.81% to 0.89% total P, and 0.19% to 0.35% InsP6-P. The MFB, LFB, and LFW had greater (P0.05) diet AID of P than HFB and HFA, and MFB had greater (P0.05) diet ATTD and STTD of P than HFB. The ATTD of InsP6-P was greater (P0.05) for HFB than LFB and the ATTD of the sum InsP6-2-P was greater (P0.05) for HFB and HFA than LFB. Total tract P release was greater (P0.001) for HFB, HFA, and LFW than MFB and LFB. The LFW had greater (P0.05) ATTD of Ca than LFB. Diet β-glucan content was not correlated with STTD of P (R2 = 0.03) or ATTD of InsP6 (R2 = 0.05). In conclusion, cereal grains high in fermentable fiber, e.g., amylose and β-glucans included in specific hull-less barley cultivars, had lower diet AID, ATTD, and STTD of P, but greater ATTD of InsP6-P and sum InsP6-2-P. Carbohydrate fermentation, thus, results in greater total tract P release from InsP-P hydrolysis.Increased fermentable carbohydrates (e.g., β-glucan, amylose) may increase intestinal endogenous phosphorus (P) losses and thereby reduce P digestibility. The study assessed effects of cereal grains varying in fermentable carbohydrates on non-phytate-P and phytate-P. Phytate is the major binding form of P in plant seed and is incompletely degraded. Seven barrows cannulated at the terminal ileum were fed diets containing 80% of one of five cereal grains: 1) high-fermentable, high-β-glucan, hull-less barley; 2) high-fermentable, high-amylose, hull-less barley; 3) moderate-fermentable, hull-less barley; 4) low-fermentable, hulled barley; and 5) low-fermentable wheat. Diet ileal digestibility of P was greater for low- and moderate-fermentable grain than high-fermentable grain, and diet total tract digestibility of P was greater for moderate-fermentable barley than high β-glucan barley. Total tract digestibility of phytate-P was greater for high β-glucan than low-fermentable barley. Total tract P release was greater for high-fermentable barley, and wheat than moderate- and low-fermentable barley. In conclusion, cereal grains high in fermentable fiber had lower diet ileal and total tract digestibility of P resulting in greater excretion of P, but greater total tract digestibility of phytate-P. Carbohydrate fermentation, thus, increases total tract P release from phytate-P degradation.

The effect of a novel consensus bacterial 6-phytase variant (PhyG) on total tract digestibility (ATTD) of minerals and bone ash was evaluated in pigs fed diets containing medium- and high-solubility limestone (MSL and HSL, 69.6 and 91.7% solubility, respectively, at 5 min, pH 3.0) in a randomized complete block design. For each limestone, eight diets were formulated: an inorganic phosphate-free negative control (NC) based on wheat, corn, soybean-meal, canola-meal and rice-barn [0.18% standardized total tract digestible (STTD) P and 0.59% Ca]; the NC supplemented with 250, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 FTU/kg of PhyG, and; the NC with added monocalcium phosphate (MCP) and limestone to produce three positive controls (0.33, 0.27, and 0.21% STTD P, and 0.75, 0.70, and 0.64% Ca, respectively; PC1, PC2, PC3). In total, 128 pigs (12.8 ± 1.33 kg, 8 pigs/treatment, housed individually) were adapted for 16 d followed by 4 d of fecal collection. Femurs were collected from euthanized pigs on day 21. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with means separation by Tukey's test, and by factorial analysis (2 x 4: 2 levels of limestone solubility, 4 STTD P levels, and 2 × 5: 2 levels of limestone solubility, 5 PhyG dose levels). Phytase dose-response was analyzed by curve fitting. A consistent negative effect of HSL on ATTD P and Ca was observed in control diets (P0.001). Across phytase-supplemented diets, HSL reduced (P0.05) ATTD Ca and P (% and g/kg) compared with MSL. Across limestones, increasing phytase dose level increased (P0.05) ATTD P exponentially. Limestone solubility had no effect on bone ash, but PhyG linearly increased (P0.05) bone ash; 500 FTU/kg or higher maintained bone ash (g/femur) equivalent to PC1. In conclusion, ATTD P and Ca were reduced by a high compared with a medium soluble limestone, but the novel phytase improved ATTD P and Ca independent of limestone solubility.Microbial phytase is added to commercial pig diets to increase phosphorus (P) availability and reduce P excretion. It is known that an excess of calcium (Ca), mostly sourced from limestone, can affect phytase efficacy. However, less is known about the impact of limestone quality. This study investigated the effect of a medium- compared to a high-soluble limestone (MSL and HSL, respectively), in combination with increasing dose levels of a novel phytase (PhyG), on mineral digestibility and bone mineralization in young pigs. Without phytase, total tract digestibility of P was lower with HSL than MSL, indicating a negative effect of more soluble limestone on mineral digestibility. Increasing the phytase dose increased digestibility of P with either limestone, and reduced the negative effect of HSL at high dose. Bone mineralization was unaffected by limestone but markedly increased by phytase. At 1,000 FTU/kg, PhyG released an estimated 1.89 or 2.32 g/kg of digestible P from monocalcium phosphate in diets containing MSL and HSL, respectively based on bone ash content. The results demonstrate the efficacy of PhyG in young pig diets whilst indicating that limestone solubility can affect phytase efficacy.

Mixed parity sows (n = 3,451; PIC, Hendersonville, TN; parities 2 through 9) and their litters were used to evaluate the effects of essential fatty acid (EFA) intake on sow reproductive performance, piglet growth and survivability, and colostrum and milk composition. Our hypothesis, like observed in earlier research, was that increasing linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) would improve sow and litter performance. At approximately day 112 of gestation, sows were randomly assigned within parity groups to 1 of 4 corn-soybean meal-wheat-based lactation diets that contained 0.5 (Control) or 3% choice white grease (CWG), 3% soybean oil (SO), or a combination of 3% soybean oil and 2% choice white grease (Combination). Thus, sows were provided diets with low LA and ALA in diets with CWG or high LA and ALA in diets that included soybean oil. Sows received their assigned EFA treatments until weaning and were then fed a common gestation and lactation diet in the subsequent reproductive cycle. Average daily feed intake during the lactation period increased (P0.05) for sows fed the Combination and CWG diets compared with sows fed the Control or SO diet. However, daily LA and ALA intakes of sows fed the Combination and SO diets were still greater (P0.05) than those of sows fed 0.5 or 3% CWG. Overall, sows consuming high EFA from the Combination or SO diets produced litters with heavier (P0.05) piglet weaning weights and greater (P0.05) litter ADG when compared with litters from sows fed diets with CWG that provided low EFA. Despite advantages in growth performance, there was no impact of sow EFA intake on piglet survivability (P0.10). Additionally, lactation diet EFA composition did not influence sow colostrum or milk dry matter, crude protein, or crude fat content (P0.10). However, LA and ALA content in colostrum and milk increased (P0.05) in response to elevated dietary EFA from SO. There was no evidence for differences (P0.10) in subsequent sow reproductive or litter performance due to previous lactation EFA intake. In conclusion, increased LA and ALA intake provided by soybean oil during lactation increased overall litter growth and pig weaning weights, reduced sow ADFI, but did not affect piglet survivability or subsequent performance of sows.Supplemental fat sources are an effective and widely accepted strategy to increase energy density of sow lactation diets that can also provide essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA). Currently, the effects of supplemental LA and ALA provided shortly before farrowing on colostrum and milk composition are not fully understood. Additionally, the influence of elevated LA and ALA provided in sow lactation diets on litter growth and survivability responses has not been extensively evaluated. Therefore, this trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of fat sources providing low and high LA and ALA intake on sow performance, litter growth and survivability, colostrum and milk composition, and subsequent reproductive performance. Overall, sows consuming diets with high LA and ALA provided by soybean oil produced litters with heavier piglet weaning weights and greater litter average daily gain when compared with sows consuming diets with low LA and ALA content. Increasing LA and ALA by added soybean oil also increased their content in colostrum and milk. However, there was no influence of sow LA and ALA intake on litter survivability or subsequent reproductive performance of sows.

Corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is commonly available and often can lower diet cost for swine diets. This corn co-product is recognized to be a source of dietary insoluble fiber, which can not only increase the villous length of the gut mucosa but also increase intestinal production of mucin. Mucin structure, functions, and synthesis are correlated to Thr intake; consequently, the dietary Thr level may need to be increased when feeding an insoluble fiber source such as corn–DDGS. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate if feeding standardized ileal digestible (SID) Thr:Lys ratio at or above the estimated requirement in diets without and with DDGS would influence growth performance in finishing pigs. A total of 2,160 pigs (PIC 337 × 1,050; initially 35.1 ± 0.5 kg) were used in a 112-d growth trial. Pigs were randomly assigned to pens (27 pigs per pen) in a randomized complete block design by body weight (BW) with 20 replications per treatment. Pens of pigs were allotted to one of four dietary treatments that were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of dietary Thr level (normal vs. high) and DDGS (without or with). Treatment diets were formulated in four phases from 34 to 57, 57 to 79, 79 to 104, and 104 to 130 kg BW. Diets with high DDGS were formulated to include 40% DDGS in phases 1 and 2, 30% in phase 3, and 15% in phase 4. The normal Thr diets were formulated to contain 61%, 62%, 63%, and 65% SID Thr:Lys ratios for the four dietary phases, respectively. High Thr diets had SID Thr:Lys ratios of 67%, 68%, 69%, and 72%, respectively. There were no interactions (P > 0.10) observed in any phase or overall between Thr level and added DDGS. For the overall period (day 0 to 112), pigs fed diets without DDGS had increased (P < 0.001) average daily gain (ADG) but reduced (P < 0.001) average daily feed intake (ADFI), leading to increased (P < 0.001) feed efficiency (gain-to-feed ratio [G:F]). There was no evidence for difference (P > 0.10) between pigs fed diets formulated at normal or high SID Thr:Lys ratio. In summary, feeding high levels of DDGS decreased ADG and increased ADFI, which resulted in decreased G:F and lower final BW, regardless of the dietary SID Thr:Lys ratio level. In the current study, increasing the level of digestible Thr in a diet that contained a highly insoluble fiber source did not increase the growth performance of grow-finish pigs.

A study evaluated the effects of adding multi-enzyme mixture to diets deficient in net energy (NE), standardized ileal digestible (SID) amino acids (AA), standardized total tract digestible (STTD) P, and Ca on growth performance, bone mineralization, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microbial composition of grow-finish pigs. A total of 300 pigs (initial body weight [BW] = 29.2 kg) were housed by sex and BW in 45 pens of 7 or 6 pigs and fed 5 diets in a randomized complete block design. Diets were positive control (PC), and negative control 1 (NC1) or negative control 2 (NC2) without or with multi-enzyme mixture. The multi-enzyme mixture supplied at least 1,800, 1,244, 6,600, and 1,000 units of xylanase, β -glucanase, arabinofuranosidase, and phytase per kilogram of diet, respectively. The PC was adequate in all nutrients. The NC1 diet had lower content NE, SID AA, STTD P, and Ca than PC diet by about 7%, 7%, 32%, and 13%, respectively. The NC2 diet had lower NE, SID AA, STTD P, and Ca than PC diet by 7%, 7%, 50%, and 22%, respectively. The diets were fed in four phases based on BW: Phase 1: 29-45 kg, Phase 2: 45-70 kg, Phase 3: 70-90 kg, and Phase 4: 90-120 kg. Nutrient digestibility, bone mineralization, and fecal microbial composition were determined at the end of Phase 1. Pigs fed PC diet had greater (P0.05) overall G:F than those fed NC1 diet or NC2 diet. Multi-enzyme mixture increased (P0.05) overall G:F, but the G:F of the multi-enzyme mixture-supplemented diets did not reach (P0.05) that of PC diet. Multi-enzyme mixture tended to increase (P = 0.08) femur breaking strength. Multi-enzyme mixture increased (P0.05) the ATTD of GE for the NC2 diet, but unaffected the ATTD of GE for the NC1 diet. Multi-enzyme mixture decreased (P0.05) the relative abundance of the Cyanobacteria and increased (P0.05) relative abundance of Butyricicoccus in feces. Thus, the NE, SID AA, STTD P, and Ca could be lowered by about 7%, 7%, 49%, and 22%, respectively, in multi-enzyme mixture-supplemented diets without negative effects on bone mineralization of grow-finish pigs. However, multi-enzyme mixture supplementation may not fully restore G:F of the grow-finish pigs fed diets that have lower NE and SID AA contents than recommended by 7%. Since an increase in content of Butyricicoccus in intestine is associated with improved gut health, addition of the multi-enzyme mixture in diets for pigs can additionally improve their gut health.A study evaluated the effects of supplementing a multi-enzyme mixture that contain fiber degrading enzymes and phytase on the growth performance, bone strength, and fecal microbial composition of grow-finish pigs fed corn-wheat-wheat bran-based diets. Five diets fed were a positive control (PC) diet, and two negative control (NC1 and NC2) diets without or with the multi-enzyme mixture. The PC diet was adequate in all nutrients and had greater available (net) energy and digestible amino content than NC1 diet or NC2 diet by 7%, and greater digestible P content than the NC1 diet (by 32%) and NC2 diet (by 50%). The diets were fed from 30 to 120 kg body weight. Feed efficiency for PC diet was greater than that for NC1 diet or NC2 diet. Multi-enzyme mixture improved feed efficiency, bone strength, and fecal concentration of beneficial micro-organisms (known as Butyricicoccus) for NC1 and NC2 diets. However, feed efficiency for the NC1 and NC2 diets did not reach that for the PC diet. Thus, multi-enzyme mixture can fully restore bone strength (but not feed efficiency) and improve health of grow-finish pigs fed corn-wheat-wheat bran-based diets in which available energy, amino acids, and P contents have been reduced by the afore-mentioned margins.

This study determined the supplemental effects of Lactobacillus fermentate (LBF, Adare Biome, France) on intestinal health and prevention of postweaning diarrhea caused by F18+Escherichia coli in nursery pigs. Sixty-four weaned pigs (6.6 ± 0.7 kg body weight) were allotted in a randomized complete block design to four treatments: NC: no challenge/no supplement; PC: E. coli challenge/no supplement; AGP: E. coli challenge/bacitracin (30 g/t feed); and PBT: E. coli challenge/LBF (2 kg/t feed). Bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD) was used as a source of bacitracin. On day 7, challenged groups were orally inoculated with F18+E. coli (2.4 × 1010 CFU), whereas NC received sterile saline solution. Growth performance was analyzed weekly, and pigs were euthanized at the end of 28 d feeding to analyze intestinal health. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS 9.4. During the post-challenge period, PC tended to decrease (P = 0.067) average daily gain (ADG) when compared with NC, whereas AGP increased (P0.05) when compared with PC; PBT tended to increase (P = 0.081) ADG when compared with PC. The PC increased fecal score (P0.05) during day 7 to 14 when compared with NC, whereas AGP decreased it (P0.05) during day 14 to 21 when compared with PC. The PC increased (P0.05) protein carbonyl, crypt cell proliferation, and the relative abundance of Helicobacter rodentium when compared with NC. However, AGP decreased (P0.05) crypt cell proliferation and H. rodentium and increased (P0.05) villus height, Bifidobacterium boum, Pelomonas spp., and Microbacterium ginsengisoli when compared with PC. The PBT reduced (P0.05) crypt cell proliferation and H. rodentium and increased (P0.05) Lactobacillus salivarius and Propionibacterium acnes when compared with PC. At the genus level, AGP and PBT increased (P0.05) the alpha diversity of jejunal mucosa-associated microbiota in pigs estimated with Chao1 richness estimator when compared with PC. Collectively, F18+E. coli reduced growth performance by adversely affecting microbiota and intestinal health. The LBF and BMD improved growth performance, and it was related to the enhanced intestinal health and increased diversity and abundance of beneficial microbiota in pigs challenged with F18+E. coli.Newly weaned pigs are susceptible to multiple stressors that may lead to postweaning diarrhea, thereby causing significant economic losses in the swine industry. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains are the major agents causing diarrhea in newly weaned pigs. Subtherapeutic antibiotics have been employed by producers around the world to mitigate this issue. However, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters has become a public health concern because of microbial resistance. This study used Lactobacillus fermentate (LBF) as a postbiotic to help maintain healthy microbiota on the intestinal mucosa and to prevent postweaning diarrhea caused by E. coli F18+. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of LBF on intestinal microbiota, intestinal health, and prevention of postweaning diarrhea caused by a challenge with E. coli F18+ in newly weaned pigs. Our model confirmed that the E. coli F18+ reduced growth performance by causing diarrhea, disruption of the microbiota composition, and increased immune response and oxidative stress in the small intestine of newly weaned pigs. Lactobacillus fermentate improved growth performance, and it was related to enhanced intestinal health and increased microbiota diversity in E. coli F18+-challenged pigs.

Residual wastes can be fermented by using probiotics to formulate a well-balanced diet for poultry. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of fermented feed (FF) formulated by the supplementation of probiotics into corn by-products, on the production performance of laying hens. A total of 468 49-wk-old Hy-Line Brown chickens were randomly allocated into four treatments with 3 replicates, control group (basal diet), group I (4% FF, w/w), group II (8% FF, w/w), and antibiotic group (flavomycin, 50 mg/kg). Laying hens were housed in 3-tier cages (28 × 48 cm × 48 cm) and the temperature was maintained at 21 °C. The birds were fed 4.56 kg of feed to each group twice a day. Compared with the control group, the egg production and feed intake in the FF groups increased significantly. Egg weight in group I was higher than that of group II and antibiotic (P0.01) while that in group II was lower than control (P0.05). The feed-to-egg ratio of FF groups compared with control was decreased (P0.05). Eggshell strength and egg shape index in group II were decreased significantly when compared with the control group (P0.05). Yolk color, albumen height (AH), and Haugh unit (HU) in FF groups were improved compared with the control group and antibiotic group (P0.01). Yolk triglyceride level was significantly reduced in group II, compared with group I. These results indicated that the FF has no adverse effects and has beneficial effects on production performance and egg quality parameters of laying hens.Feed costs the major portion of poultry industry which is estimated to be 60% to 70%. The current study focused to add the fermented agro-industrial by product most of which were waste residues to the laying hen’s diet. The result showed beneficial effects, which proved that fermentation is a good method to improve the nutritional quality of feed raw materials, which is beneficial to the gastrointestinal health of the poultry. The study elaborated the potential of waste residues to be used as a kind of functional feed ingredient, which can enhanced the production parameters and egg quality indices of poultry.

The present study investigated the effects of live yeast cultures (LYC) on growth performance, gut health indicators, and immune responses in broiler chickens. A total of 720 mixed-sex broilers (40 birds/pen; 9 replicates/treatment) were randomly allocated to two dietary treatments: (1) a basal diet based on corn-soybean meal (CON) and (2) CON with 1 g/kg LYC. At 35 d of age, one bird per replicate pen was chosen for biopsy. LYC group tended (P0.10) to increase average daily gain during the grower phase compared with CON group. Broilers fed LYC diet had increased (P = 0.046) duodenal villus height and area but reduced (P = 0.003) duodenal crypt depth compared with those fed CON diet. Birds fed LYC diet presented alleviated (P0.05) serum TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels compared with those fed CON diet. Further, birds fed LYC diet exhibited upregulated (P0.05) ileal tight junction-related proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the ileal tissue compared with those fed CON diet. Inverse Simpson's diversity (P = 0.038) revealed that birds fed CON diet had a more diverse microbiota community in the ileal digesta, compared with those fed LYC diet, while no significant difference between the treatments on Chao1 and Shannon's indices was observed. Based on the weighted UniFrac distance, the PCoA showed that microbiota in the ileal digesta of the LYC group was different from that of the CON group. LYC group increased the abundance of the phyla Firmicutes and genera Lactobacillus, Prevotella, and Enterococcus compared with CON group. The present study demonstrated that supplemental LYC as a feed additive provide supportive effects on enhancing gut functionality by improving the upper intestinal morphology and gut integrity, and modulating the immune system and microbiota communities of birds.Live yeast culture (LYC) is composed of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its metabolites such as mannan-oligosaccharides, peptides, nucleotides, vitamins and unknown growth factors. The supplementation of LYC is expected to exert health benefits in animals; however, the responses of broiler chickens to supplemental LYC is not fully explored. Thus, the present study evaluated the effects of LYC supplementation on growth performance, immune responses and intestinal health in broiler chickens. Based on the results from the present study, supplementation of LYC to a corn-based diet did not affect growth performance. Nonetheless, supplemental LYC improved intestinal morphology, upregulated tight junction-related protein genes and altered ileal microbiota diversity, suggesting its health benefits in improving gut health. In addition, supplemental LYC modulated serum immune responses and ileal cytokine genes expression, presenting its immunomodulatory potential.

The objective of this study was to determine the energy utilization responses of growing pigs and broiler chickens to poultry meal that was autoclaved at 134 °C for 0 to 180 min. Poultry meal from the same batch was autoclaved at 134 °C for 7 autoclaving times of 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 min to generate 7 samples. Eight experimental diets consisting of a basal diet based on corn and soybean meal, and seven test diets in which 15% of energy-contributing ingredients in the basal diet were replaced with each of the seven poultry meal samples were used. In experiment 1, there were 64 barrows (initial body weight = 19.4 ± 1.0 kg) allotted to 8 experimental diets in a randomized complete block design with body weight as a blocking factor. Each pig received an experimental diet during 5 d of adaptation followed by 5 d of quantitative total, but separate, collection of urine and feces. In experiment 2, a total of 512 male broiler chickens at day 17 post-hatching (initial body weight = 660 ± 80 g) in 8 replicate cages were allotted to 8 experimental diets in a randomized complete block design with body weight as a blocking factor. Excreta were collected from days 20 to 22 post-hatching, and birds were euthanized by CO2 asphyxiation for ileal digesta collection. Data from experiments 1 and 2 were pooled together for statistical analysis as a 2 × 7 factorial treatment arrangement with the effect of species (pigs or broiler chickens) and autoclaving time of poultry meal (7 autoclaving times between 0 and 180 min). An interaction between species and their linear effect of autoclaving time was observed (P0.05) in metabolizable energy (ME) of poultry meal. Specifically, linear decrease in ME values in poultry meal with increasing autoclaving time was greater (P0.05) in growing pigs (4,792 to 3,897 kcal/kg dry matter) compared with broiler chickens (3,591 to 3,306 kcal/kg dry matter). The ME value of unautoclaved poultry meal was greater (P0.01) for pigs than broiler chickens at 4,792 vs. 3,591 kcal/kg dry matter. Although decrease in ME values with autoclaving time of poultry meal was greater in growing pigs than in broiler chickens, the ME in autoclaved poultry meal fed to pigs was greater than ME in non-autoclaved poultry meal fed to broiler chickens. Furthermore, the ratio of cysteine to crude protein concentration is a potential indicator for estimating the ratio of ME to gross energy in poultry meal for growing pigs (r2 = 0.81) and broiler chickens (r2 = 0.84).Poultry meal is a rendered product that consists of clean flesh and skin-derived from the parts of whole carcasses of slaughtered poultry. Because poultry meal has a highly digestible protein concentration and optimal amino acid profile, it is widely used in swine and poultry diets. During the rendering process, poultry meal is heated, which may affect energy utilization. In the current study, poultry meal was autoclaved at 134 °C for 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 min to mimic heating of poultry meal. These seven poultry meal samples were fed to growing pigs and broiler chickens. Reduction in energy utilization with autoclaving time of poultry meal was greater in growing pigs compared with broiler chickens. However, despite a larger decrease in energy utilization in poultry meal by autoclaving in growing pigs, metabolizable energy values were still greater in growing pigs compared with broiler chickens.

The COVID-19 global pandemic greatly affected pork processing plants in the United States. These pork processing plants were forced to either temporarily close or operate at reduced capacity due to the increased number of health-related employee absences. Because finishing pigs could not be timely marketed, methods to reduce growth performance were required to keep pigs from becoming too heavy at slaughter weight. Therefore, our objective was to determine the extent that reducing dietary standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys and tryptophan-to-lysine ratio (Trp:Lys) ratio would slow finishing pig average daily gain (ADG) in a commercial setting. A total of 1,080 finishing pigs (327 × 1050, PIC; initially 32.3 kg) were used in a 119-d growth trial. Pigs were allotted by initial body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments in a completely randomized block design with 27 pigs per pen and 10 pens per treatment. Three dietary regimes were formulated to contain either 100%, 90%, or 80% of the estimated SID Lys requirement for pigs in this facility, with a SID Trp:Lys ratio of 19%, with the exception of the last dietary phase formulated to 17% SID Trp:Lys. Seven different dietary phases were fed. The SID Lys concentrations in the 100% diets were: 1.10%, 1.01%, 0.91%, 0.83%, 0.79%, 0.71%, or 0.67% SID Lys from 32 to 40, 40 to 51, 51 to 72, 72 to 85, 85 to 98, 98 to 112, and 112 to 130 kg, respectively. A fourth regime was formulated to 80% SID Lys with a SID Trp:Lys ratio of 16% (80–16% SID Trp:Lys) throughout all phases. Overall from d 0 to 119, ADG (linear, P < 0.001), final BW (linear, P < 0.001), and gain-to-feed (G:F) decreased (linear, P = 0.087) as SID Lys decreased from 100% to 80% of the estimated requirement. Pigs fed the 80–16% SID Trp:Lys diets had an additional decrease in ADG (P < 0.05) and G:F (P < 0.10) compared with pigs fed 80% of the SID Lys requirement with the normal Trp:Lys ratio. The reduction in SID Lys (from 100% to 80%) and reduction in SID Lys and Trp:Lys ratio resulted in an 8.6 and 11.7 kg, respectively, decrease in final BW compared with pigs fed Lys and Trp at the requirement (100%). This study provides alternatives for pork producers to reduce growth rate of finishing pigs.

The current dietary Ca recommendation of broilers is primarily based on the previous studies carried out more than 30 yr ago. However, the modern commercial broilers are quite different from those more than 30 yr ago. The present experiment was conducted to evaluate an optimal dietary Ca level by bone characteristics and Ca metabolism-related gene expression of broilers fed a corn-soybean meal diet from 22 to 42 d of age. A total of 252 22-d-old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly assigned to 1 of 7 treatments with 6 replicate cages of 6 birds per cage for each treatment. Broilers were fed the corn-soybean meal diets containing 0.50%, 0.60%, 0.70%, 0.80%, 0.90%, 1.00%, or 1.10% Ca for 21 d, and each diet contained 0.31% non-phytate P. The results showed that the mineral contents in tibia and middle toe bone, mineral density in tibia and middle toe bone, middle toe ash percentage, middle toe ash Ca percentage, and tibia alkaline phosphatase mRNA expression level of broilers were influenced (P0.04) by dietary Ca level and increased quadratically (P0.05) as dietary Ca level increased. The estimates of optimal dietary Ca levels were 0.55%, 0.60%, 0.70%, 0.72%, 0.63%, 0.66%, and 0.70%, respectively, based on the best fitted broken-line, quadratic, or asymptotic models (P0.02) of the above sensitive indices. These results indicate that the optimal dietary Ca level would be 0.72% to support all of the Ca metabolism and bone development of broilers fed the corn-soybean meal diet from 22 to 42 d of age.The present experiment was conducted to evaluate an optimal dietary Ca level by bone characteristics and Ca metabolism-related gene expression of broilers fed a corn-soybean meal diet from 22 to 42 d of age. A total of 252 22-d-old Arbor Acres male broilers were randomly assigned to 1 of 7 treatments with 6 replicate cages of 6 birds per cage for each treatment. Broilers were fed the corn-soybean meal diets containing 0.50%, 0.60%, 0.70%, 0.80%, 0.90%, 1.00%, or 1.10% Ca for 21 d, and each diet contained 0.31% non-phytate P. The results showed that the tibia and middle toe bone mineral contents, tibia and middle toe bone mineral density, middle toe ash percentage, middle toe ash Ca percentage, and tibia alkaline phosphatase mRNA expression level were sensitive criteria to estimate the optimal dietary Ca levels of broilers. The estimates of optimal dietary Ca levels were 0.55% to 0.72% based on the above sensitive criteria. These results indicate that the optimal dietary Ca level would be 0.72% to support all of the Ca metabolism and bone development of broilers fed the corn-soybean meal diet from 22 to 42 d of age.

Mixed sex pigs (n = 720) were placed in 12 rooms (Purdue Swine Environmental Research Building) to measure the effect of reduced crude protein (CP), amino acid (AA)-supplemented diets on growth and the carcass. Pigs were blocked by body weight (BW) and gender and allotted to room and pen (10 mixed-sex pigs/pen). Pigs were fed a nine-phase, wean-finish program. Control pigs consumed corn-soybean meal-distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) diets containing no to minimal (Met) synthetic AA. The 2X diet was formulated to meet the seventh most-limiting AA, and balanced using synthetic AAs to meet all AA needs. The 1X diet was formulated to meet a CP value halfway between the control and 2X diet, and also balanced using synthetic AAs to meet all AA needs. Diets were formulated to identical net energy concentrations and balanced to meet standard ileal digestible NRC 2012 AA requirements. Pit vacuum samples were collected at the end of each growth phase for analyses of nitrogen, C and dry matter (DM). Pigs fed the Control and 1X diet grew faster (P < 0.005), had greater gain:feed (P < 0.001), and were heavier at market (P < 0.001) than animals fed the 2X diet. No consistent effects of diet were observed on average daily feed intake. Carcass data were analyzed for sex, diet and sex*diet effects. Reductions in dietary CP resulted in a linear reduction in ammonium nitrogen excretion per kg of BW gain in Nursery (P < 0.001) and Grow-Finish (P < 0.001) phases. Reductions in dietary CP, with synthetic AA supplementation resulted in a linear reduction in total nitrogen excreted per kg BW gain in the Grow-Finish phase (P < 0.001) and overall (P < 0.001). Total mineral excretion per kg gain was reduced in pigs fed 1X and 2X diets compared with control-fed pigs (P < 0.005). Reductions in dietary CP of ~3 and 5%-units from wean-finish result in reductions of total N excretion of 11.7 and 24.4%, respectively. Reduced performance and carcass characteristics observed in pigs fed the 2X diets indicates an inaccurate estimate of NRC 2012 AA requirements or ratios to lysine in a low CP diet.

In livestock species, the enterocytes of the small intestine are responsible for the synthesis of citrulline and arginine from glutamine and proline. At present, little is known about de novo synthesis of citrulline and arginine in horses. To test the hypothesis that horses of different age groups can utilize glutamine and proline for the de novo synthesis of citrulline and arginine, jejunal enterocytes from 19 horses of three different age groups: neonates (n = 4; 7.54 ± 2.36 d of age), adults (n = 9; 6.4 ± 0.35 yr), and aged (n = 6; 22.9 ± 1.0 yr) with healthy gastrointestinal tracts were used in the present study. Enterocytes were isolated from the jejunum and incubated at 37 °C for 30 min in oxygenated (95% O2/5% CO2) Krebs bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 5 mM D-glucose and 0 mM, 2-mM L-[U-14C]glutamine, or 2 mM L-[U-14C]proline plus 2 mM L-glutamine. Concentrations of arginine, citrulline, and ornithine in cells plus medium were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results indicate that the rate of oxidation of glutamine to CO2 was high in enterocytes from neonatal horses, but low in cells from adult and aged horses. Enterocytes from all age groups of horses did not degrade proline into CO2. Regardless of age, equine enterocytes formed ornithine from glutamine and proline, but failed to convert ornithine into citrulline and arginine. Because arginine is an essential substrate for the synthesis of not only proteins, but also nitrogenous metabolites (e.g., nitric oxide, polyamines, and creatine), our novel findings have important implications for the nutrition, performance, and health of horses.The amino acid arginine (Arg) is a precursor for the synthesis of multiple biological molecules including nitric oxide, polyamines, and creatine that are involved in cell proliferation, cellular remodeling, dilation of blood vessels, and phosphocreatine production for a readily available source of energy. Multipurpose capabilities of Arg have increased the interest in its effects in other species and must be evaluated in the horse. Levels of Arg are deficient in the milk of mammals such as humans, cows, sheep, and pigs, but their neonates are capable of synthesizing citrulline and Arg from glutamine and proline in the small intestine. High concentrations of Arg in milk have been observed in the horse, warranting investigation in case that the foal cannot synthesize Arg to support growth and thus rely on milk as the sole source of Arg. To date, no research has determined the endogenous production of Arg in horses to support metabolic and physiological processes; therefore, our experiment quantifies the synthesis of Arg in enterocytes of the small intestine of neonatal, adult, and aged horses. Data collected from this study serve as the necessary first step to determine the Arg requirement in the horse that has over-reaching implications to improve the growth, performance, reproductive efficiency, and to enhance longevity of the horse.

Research on the effects of different fiber types and levels on infection with Brachyspira hyodysenteriae on growth performance and nutrients digestibility in pigs is scarce. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of infection with B. hyodysenteriae when feeding diets varying in soluble and insoluble dietary fiber (DF) on the expression of swine dysentery, growth performance, and digestibility of organic matter (OM) nutrients. A total of 96 growing pigs (26.9 ± 2.5 kg) were used for the experiment and divided into six blocks. The growing pigs were fed one of four diets for 12 wk: low fiber (LF), high fiber (HF), high soluble fiber (HS), and high insoluble fiber (HI). After 2 wk, half of the pigs were inoculated with B. hyodysenteriae. Half of the pigs in each group were euthanized at week 6 for the measurement of the apparent digestibility at the ileum, cecum, colon, and total tract. The remaining pigs were maintained to observe and analyze the clinical expression of fecal score and excretion of B. hyodysenteriae, growth performance, and total tract digestibility up to 12 wk. In the current study, the experimental diets did not influence the expression of infection in the pigs. The body weight and average daily gain (ADG) were in line with the results of clinical expression from week 4 to 6. However, the ADG of the infected pigs started to recover from week 6 (P0.05) and then recovered from week 8 to 12 (P0.05). The infection with B. hyodysenteriae did not impair apparent ileal digestibility (AID; P0.05), whereas the apparent digestibility of OM, total non-starch polysaccharide, non-cellulosic polysaccharide, and cellulose in the cecum of the infected pigs was higher than non-infected pigs (P0.05). The apparent colonic digestibility of ash and nitrogen was higher in non-infected pigs than in infected pigs (P0.05). The pigs fed the LF diet had a higher digestibility in all segments of the intestinal tract, whereas the HS diet had the lowest AID but higher or similar to the LF diet in the cecum, colon, and the total tract (P0.05). The pigs fed the HF and HI diets, with a high proportion of insoluble fiber, had a lower digestibility in the hindgut than the other two diets (P0.05). In conclusion, the infection with B. hyodysenteriae negatively influenced clinical signs of swine dysentery and growth performance but did not impair AID, and neither soluble nor insoluble DF influenced the expression of the infection.Swine dysentery is a severe disease that can cause increased mortality and poor feed efficiency with bloody diarrhea. This disease can be treated with antibiotics, but there is a limitation of using antibiotics due to governmental policy, thereby the incidence of swine dysentery has been increased. We, therefore, try to find alternatives with diverse fiber sources and understand the mechanism of swine dysentery in growing pigs. In this study, infection of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae showed a negative influence on growth performance, but compensatory growth and recovery were observed in pigs after 6 wk of the infection. The apparent ileal digestibility was not affected by the infection, and the digestibility of non-starch polysaccharides in the cecum was rather increased than decreased probably because of interaction between B. hyodysenteriae and specific bacteria, which can stimulate fiber degradation in the cecum. However, fiber type and level did not influence the prevention and alleviation of the infection.

Neonatal piglets often suffer low birth weights and poor growth performance accompanied by the disruption of protein metabolism, when intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) takes place during pregnancy, leading to a higher mortality and bigger economic loss than expected. Leucine has been proposed to function as a nutritional signal-regulating protein synthesis in numerous studies. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of dietary leucine supplementation on the blood parameters and hepatic protein metabolism in IUGR piglets. Weaned piglets were assigned to one of four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: 1) piglets fed a basal diet with normal birth weight, 2) piglets fed a basal diet plus 0.35% l-leucine with normal birth weight, 3) IUGR piglets fed a basal diet with low birth weight, and 4) IUGR piglets fed a basal diet plus 0.35% l-leucine with low birth weight. The results showed that IUGR decreased serum aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase activities and increased serum cortisol and prostaglandin E2 levels at 35 d of age (P0.05), suggesting the occurrence of liver dysfunction and stress response. Leucine supplementation increased serum alkaline phosphatase activity and decreased serum cortisol levels at 35 d of age (P0.05). IUGR decreased the lysozyme activity and complement 3 level in serum (P0.05), which were prevented by dietary leucine supplementation. IUGR piglets showed increased hepatic DNA contents while showing a reduced RNA/DNA ratio (P0.05). Piglets supplied with leucine had decreased RNA/DNA ratio in the liver (P0.05). Leucine supplementation stimulated hepatic protein anabolism through upregulating protein synthesis-related genes expression and activating the phosphorylation of mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) (P0.05). Moreover, IUGR inhibited the mRNA expression of hepatic protein degradation-related genes, indicating a compensatory mechanism for the metabolic response. Dietary leucine supplementation attenuated the suppression of the protein catabolism induced by IUGR in the liver. These results demonstrate that dietary leucine supplementation could alter the blood parameters and alleviated the disrupted protein metabolism induced by IUGR via enhanced mTOR phosphorylation to promote protein synthesis in weaned piglets.Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) produces a notable disturbance of protein metabolism in piglets, leading to lower birth weights and economic loss. Leucine supplementation positively regulates protein metabolism in animals and has the potential to recover the impaired balance between protein synthesis and degradation. Our study showed that leucine supplementation alleviated the abnormal changes in blood parameters and stimulated protein synthesis through the mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin signal pathway in the liver. Leucine supplementation attenuated the suppression of protein degradation induced by IUGR, which might be involved in a hepatic compensatory mechanism contributing to health status.

Titanium dioxide has been used as a marker for determining diet digestibility indirectly, but some authors have expressed difficulty in measuring TiO2 concentrations in fecal material. We developed an accurate and precise method to determine TiO2 concentrations in equine feces. The method includes dry-ashing samples, digestion with (NH4)2SO4 in concentrated sulfuric acid, followed by the addition of H2O2 to produce a yellow to orange color that can be read spectrophotometrically. Accuracy was tested by spike recovery, and precision was tested by examining the coefficient of variation (CV) between duplicates of 449 individual samples. The method described here was compared with a previously published method by examining CV between duplicates of samples analyzed using both methods and comparing them using a paired t-test. Titanium dioxide spike recovery averaged 106%, and the CV between duplicates averaged 4.0%, with 79% of sample pairs having a CV of5%. When compared with a previously published method, the method described here had a lower CV between duplicates (P0.0001). The method described here provides an accurate and precise quantitative analytical procedure for TiO2 in equine fecal samples.Titanium dioxide is a marker fed to animals to help determine diet digestibility indirectly by measuring the concentration of TiO2 in fecal samples. This paper describes an accurate and precise method to analyze TiO2 in equine feces. The precision of this method is demonstrated by the low variation between sample duplicates. This method requires fewer sample replicates for analysis, leading to less labor, expense, and waste in the laboratory.

Neonates with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) are prone to suffer from delayed postnatal growth and development during the early stages of life. Ferulic acid (FA) is a phenolic compound that is abundantly present in fruits and vegetables and has various health benefits. Hence, we explored whether FA supplementation could favorably affect the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal development of piglets with IUGR. In total, eight normal-birth-weight (NBW) piglets and 16 piglets with IUGR (age, 7 d) were assigned to be fed either basic formula milk (NBW and IUGR groups, respectively) or basic formula milk supplemented with 100 mg/kg FA (IUGR + FA group) for 21 d. At necropsy, the serum and intestinal tissues were collected. FA supplementation increased (P0.05) the feed conversion ratio and serum total superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in piglets with IUGR. Moreover, FA supplementation elevated (P0.05) the duodenal lactase and maltase activities, jejunal villus height and jejunal maltase activity but reduced (P0.05) the duodenal crypt depth and duodenal and jejunal cell apoptosis, cleaved cysteinyl aspartic acid protease-3 (caspase-3) content and cleaved caspase-9 content in piglets with IUGR. In summary, FA supplementation could elevate antioxidant capacity and facilitate intestinal development, thus resulting in increased feed efficiency in piglets with IUGR.Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) impairs postnatal growth and development in neonatal piglets. Ferulic acid (FA) is a ubiquitous phenolic compound that is present in numerous fruits and vegetables and possesses various biological activities. However, little is known about whether FA supplementation has beneficial effects on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal development of piglets with IUGR. Our findings provide important implications for treating piglets with IUGR after birth by stimulating intestinal development with FA supplementation.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether increased inclusion of sugar beet pulp (SBP) alters retention of fat, protein, and energy when backfat (BF) is restored in early- and mid-gestation. In total, 46 sows were fed one of four treatments with increasing inclusion of SBP with dietary fiber (DF) levels of 119, 152, 185, and 217 g/kg; sows were assigned to one of three feeding strategies (FS; high, medium, and low) depending on BF thickness at mating and again at day 30 for the following month. On days 0, 30, 60, and 108, body weight (BW) and BF thickness were measured, and body pools of protein and fat were estimated using the deuterium technique. On days 30 and 60, urine, feces, and blood samples were collected to quantify metabolites, energy, and N balances. On days 15 and 45, heart rates were recorded to estimate the heat production. At farrowing, total born and weight of the litter were recorded. In early gestation, BW gain (P0.01) and body protein retention increased (P0.05) with increasing fiber inclusion, while body fat retention increased numerically by 59%. Increase in BF was the greatest for sows fed the high FS, intermediate when fed the medium strategy, and negligible for sows fed the lowest FS. N intake, N loss in feces, and N balance increased linearly, whereas N loss in urine tended to decrease with increasing inclusion of fibers in early gestation. Concomitantly, fecal energy output and energy lost as methane increased linearly (P0.001), while energy output in urine declined linearly, and total metabolizable energy intake, therefore, increased from 40.5 MJ ME/d in the low-fiber group to 43.5 mega joule (MJ) metabolizable energy (ME)/d in the high-fiber group (P0.001). Changing the metabolizable energy toward more ketogenic energy was expected to favor fat retention rather than protein retention. However, due to increased intake of metabolizable energy and increased N efficiency with increasing fiber inclusion, the sows gained more weight and protein with increasing fiber inclusion. In conclusion, increased feed intake improved both fat and protein retention, whereas increased DF concentration increased protein retention.Feeding sows sugar beet pulp (SBP) has many known benefits, for example, increased satiety, and it is a highly fermentable fiber source for sows. This study investigates how efficient sows utilize energy for fat and protein retention in response to increased SBP inclusion in the diet. After a demanding lactation, sows need to restore body fat and concomitantly avoid excessive protein retention, which increases energy demand for maintenance and risk of locomotory problems. The hypothesis in this study was that energy from fermented fibers is more efficient for fat retention than dietary starch. In the study, sows had numerically greater fat retention when fed high concentrations of fiber from SBP, but, concomitantly, sows unintendedly also increased their protein retention, which in turn increased substantially their live weight. Sows were fed one of three feeding strategies depending on the body condition score (lean, medium, or fat) in early gestation, and backfat was efficiently restored in most sows within a month. To conclude, gestating sows have a high capability to utilize energy from fermented fiber, but sows prefer to retain protein rather than fat, which needs to be addressed in the nutrition of modern genotype sows.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of tannic acid (TA) on growth performance, blood parameters, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health in broilers challenged with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). A total of 480 broilers aged 1 d were randomly allotted into four treatments: 1) CON, control diet; 2) AF, CON + 60 μg/kg AFB1 of feed during days 1 to 21, CON + 120 μg/kg AFB1 of feed during days 22 to 42; 3) TA1, AF + 250 mg/kg TA; and 4) TA2, AF + 500 mg/kg TA. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were increased in the TA1 during days 1 to 21, days 22 to 42, and days 1 to 42 compared with CON and AF treatments (P0.05). Broilers fed the TA2 diet had greater ADG and ADFI than those fed the CON and AF diets during the finisher and the whole period (P0.05). Administration of TA decreased the relative weight of liver and kidney compared with broilers fed the AF diet on day 42 (P0.05). The blood activity of alanine transferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) was increased in the AF treatment compared with the CON (P0.05). Broilers fed the TA1 decreased the ALT content on day 21, and the level of ALT and GGT was decreased in the TA2 compared with the AF group on day 42 (P0.05). The activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in plasma, and the hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST) was decreased in the AF group compared with the CON group (P0.05). The TA decreased plasma malondialdehyde concentration, and increased plasma T-SOD, GSH-Px, total antioxidant capacity, and hepatic GST activity compared with the AF (P0.05). The crypt depth of the jejunum was decreased in the TA1 treatment on day 21, and the villus height of the ileum was increased in the TA2 group on day 42 compared with the AF treatment (P0.05). The cecal Lactobacillus counts on day 21 were tended to increase in the TA treatments compared with the AF (P = 0.061). In conclusion, dietary inclusion of 250 and 500 mg/kg TA could improve the growth, antioxidant capacity, and partially protected the intestinal health of broilers challenged with AFB1.Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is well known for its growth retardation, hepatotoxic, immunosuppressive, and other negative effects both in humans and poultry. Plant extracts such as tannic acid (TA) have been demonstrated as effective agents to control AFB1 contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Chinese gallnut TA in preventing aflatoxicosis in broilers. Broilers received one of four treatments: CON, control diet; AF, control diet with AFB1; TA1, AF + 250 mg/kg TA; TA2, AF + 500 mg/kg TA. Although AF did not decrease the growth performance of broilers, 250 and 500 mg/kg TA had greater average daily gain and average daily feed intake than those in the CON and AF. The relative weight of liver and kidney, blood alanine transferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase activity were increased, and the antioxidant status was depressed in chicks fed the AF diet compared with the CON group. Dietary supplementation with 250 and 500 mg/kg TA ameliorated all the above-mentioned negative effects of AFB1. Moreover, the crypt depth of the jejunum was decreased, and the villus height of the ileum was increased in TA treatments compared with the AF. Conclusively, Chinese gallnut TA could be considered as a potential natural agent for the prevention of AFB1-induced oxidative and intestinal damage of broilers.

Five experiments were conducted to evaluate the lysine (Lys) requirements of lactating sows. All diets were formulated to be isocaloric 3.46 Mcal ME/kg and met or exceeded National Research Council recommendations. In all studies, sow feed intake, body weight loss/gain, subsequent reproduction, and litter growth rate (LGR) were evaluated. The data were analyzed as randomized complete block design using generalized linear model in SAS with parity as a block. Two hundred and sixty-four primiparous sows (PIC Camborough 22) were randomly allotted to one of five lactation treatments (total Lys of 0.95%, 1.05%, 1.15%, 1.25%, and 1.35%) in Exp. 1 from August 2005 through October 2005. As daily total dietary Lys intake increased from 52.10 to 77.53 g, piglet ADG and daily litter gain linearly improved (P < 0.01). From February 2007 through April 2007, 336 multiparous sows (parity 4 and older, PIC Camborough 29) were randomly allotted to one of five lactation treatments (total Lys 0.85%, 0.95%, 1.05%, 1.15%, or 1.25%) in Exp. 2. As dietary total Lys increased from 0.85% to 1.25% of the diet, there were no significant differences in litter performance, such as ADG, daily litter gain, and the number of pigs weaned. Experiment 3 was conducted from October 2008 through January 2009. Two hundred and seventy-nine primiparous gilts (PIC Camborough 29) were randomly allotted to one of five lactation treatments (total Lys 1.14%, 1.25%, 1.35%, 1.46%, and 1.57%). Actual total Lys intakes increased from 56.74 to 77.12 g/d. Feeding total dietary Lys quadratically decreased (P < 0.01) weaning-to-estrus interval and increased percentage bred by 10 d (P = 0.02). In Exp. 4, 200 sows (parity 4 and older, PIC Camborough 29) were randomly allotted to one of five treatments (0.85%, 0.95%, 1.05%, 1.15%, or 1.25% total Lys) from January 2008 through March 2008. As dietary total Lys increased from 42.40 to 66.15 g/d, sow body weight and LGRs were not influenced by dietary total Lys intakes. In Exp. 5, 324 parity 3 sows (PIC Camborough 29) were randomly allotted to one of five treatments (0.77%, 0.92%, 1.08%, 1.23%, and 1.38% total Lys) from August 2009 through October 2009. As daily dietary total Lys intake increased from 39.44 to 67.32 g, the percentage of sows bred by 10 d increased (P = 0.02), as well as the LGR. A broken-line quadratic regression analysis demonstrated that the total Lys requirement for LGR for parity 1 females is calculated as 72.68 − [6.04 × (3.55 − LGR)] and for parity 3+ females as 92.03 − [11.9 × (4.24 − LGR)].

Two experiments investigated the effects of feeding diets containing 30% of novel high-protein distillers dried grains (HP-DDG) sources to growing–finishing pigs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and pork fat quality. A four-phase feeding program was used in both experiments, and diets within phases were formulated based on National Research Council (NRC; 2012) recommendations for metabolizable energy and standardized ileal digestible amino acid content of HP-DDG. In Exp. 1, a total of 144 pigs (body weight [BW] = 20.3 ± 1.6 kg) were fed either corn-soybean meal control diets (CON) or 30% HP-DDG diets (HP-DDG) containing 0.7 mg/kg deoxynivalenol (DON), 0.1 mg/kg fumonisins (FUM), and 56 μg/kg zearalenone (ZEA) for 8 wk. On week 9, a mycotoxin mitigation additive (MA) was added to CON and HP-DDG diets, resulting in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments consisting of: CON, CON + MA, HP-DDG, and HP-DDG + MA. Pigs fed HP-DDG had lower (P < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) compared with those fed CON during the first 8 wk. After MA was added to diets, pigs fed HP-DDG diets without MA had lower (P < 0.05) overall ADG than those fed HP-DDG + MA and less (P < 0.05) final BW than pigs fed CON or CON + MA. Adding MA to HP-DDG diets containing relatively low concentrations of mycotoxins was effective in restoring growth performance comparable to feeding CON. In Exp. 2, a different source of HP-DDG was used, and mycotoxin MAs were added to all diets at the beginning of the trial. A total of 144 pigs (BW = 22.7 ± 2.3 kg) were fed either a corn-soybean meal control diet or a 30% HP-DDG diet containing 0.5 mg/kg DON and 0.8 mg/kg FUM for 16 wk. Pigs fed HP-DDG diets had less (P < 0.01) final BW and ADG than pigs fed CON, but there were no differences in ADFI. Feeding the HP-DDG diets reduced (P < 0.01) hot carcass weight, carcass yield, longissimus muscle area (LMA), and percentage of carcass fat-free lean compared with pigs fed CON but did not affect backfat (BF) depth. Pigs fed HP-DDG had less (P < 0.01) saturated fatty acid (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content and greater (P < 0.01) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and iodine value in BF than pigs fed CON. These results suggest that feeding diets containing relatively low concentrations of co-occurring mycotoxins can be detrimental to growth performance, and the addition of MA alleviated the growth reduction. Feeding 30% HP-DDG reduced BW, ADG, carcass yield, LMA, and percentage of fat-free lean of growing–finishing pigs but yielded acceptable pork fat quality.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of including liquid lactose (LL) and molasses (M) in swine diets on pellet quality and pig performance. In experiment 1, a total of 194 nursery pigs (DNA 241 × 600, initially 6.7 ± 0.4 kg at 27 d of age) were used in a 33-d experiment evaluating the effects of LL (SweetLac 63; Westway Feed Products, Tomball, TX) or cane molasses on nursery pig performance and pellet quality. Pelleted experimental diets were fed from d 0 to 21, and a common pelleted diet fed from d 21 to 33. Dietary treatments consisted of a control diet containing 19.1% total sugars from whey powder and whey permeate and experimental diets with a percentage of whey permeate replaced by either 5% or 10% LL or 9.4% cane molasses (5 LL, 10 LL, and 9.4 M, respectively). Hot pellet temperature and production rate decreased (P < 0.05) from the control to 9.4 M treatments with 5 LL and 10 LL having intermediate effects. Pellet durability index (PDI) increased (P < 0.05) in 5 LL, 10 LL, and 9.4 M, respectively. From d 0 to 7, pigs fed the 10 LL and 9.4 M treatment had the best G:F followed by the control and 5 LL treatments. From d 0 to 21, ADFI had a marginally significant improvement (P < 0.10) in pigs fed up to 10 LL in the diet. Fecal consistency scores at d 7 were also firmer (P < 0.05) in pigs fed 9.4 M compared with pigs fed the control or 5 LL treatments with pigs fed the 10 LL treatment being intermediate. There was no evidence for differences in fecal consistency scores for d 14. In experiment 2, a total of 289 finishing pigs (DNA 241 × 600; initially 53.5 ± 0.5 kg BW) were used in a 53-d experiment evaluating the effects of LL on pellet quality and finishing pig performance. Experimental diets were fed in pelleted form from d 0 to 53 divided into three phases. Dietary treatments were a corn-soybean meal control diet with 0%, 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5% LL added in the place of corn. PDI improved (linear, P < 0.01) with increasing inclusion of LL. There were no differences in ADG, ADFI, final BW, or carcass characteristics. Pigs fed diets with increasing levels of LL tended to have improved (quadratic, P = 0.070) G:F.

Compensatory growth induced by lysine (Lys) restriction in grow-finish pigs is a complex physiological process affected by many factors and interactions, principally genotype, stage of growth at restriction, nature of nutritional restriction, and patterns of restriction and recovery. The scarcity of standard comparisons across the literature has hindered the characterization of important determinants of compensatory growth. Therefore, the present publication aims to review the current state of knowledge on compensatory growth induced by Lys restriction in grow-finish pigs, develop a database from peer-reviewed literature to standardize comparisons to characterize the occurrence of compensatory growth, and provide practical considerations for compensatory growth under field conditions. The literature search focused on publications directly or indirectly evaluating compensatory growth by having a period of Lys restriction followed by a recovery period of Lys sufficiency for grow-finish pigs. The database included 14 publications and 57 comparisons expressed as relative differences of restricted pigs compared to nonrestricted pigs. The database analysis described compensatory growth into complete, incomplete, and no compensatory growth categories and characterized the patterns of restriction and recovery in each category. The review of literature and database analysis supports the occurrence of compensatory growth induced by Lys restriction in grow-finish pigs. The degree of Lys restriction and duration of restriction and recovery periods seem to be critical in explaining differences between complete and incomplete compensatory growth, whereas Lys level in the recovery period seems to be critical between incomplete or no compensatory growth. Compensatory growth seems to be more likely if: 1) the degree of Lys restriction is between 10% and 30%; 2) Lys restriction is induced before pigs reach their maximum protein deposition; 3) duration of Lys restriction is short (maximum 40–45% overall duration) and duration of recovery period is long (minimum 55–60% overall duration); and 4) Lys level in recovery is close to or above the estimated requirements. In addition, compensatory growth can occur under commercial conditions and there seems to be an opportunity to exploit compensatory growth in grow-finish pigs to reduce feed cost and improve feed efficiency under certain market conditions.

This study evaluated the effect of an emulsifier on the energetic values of lipids fed to yellow-feathered chickens and established prediction equations for the metabolizable energy (ME) of lipids fed with and without an emulsifier. One hundred and ninety-two Chinese yellow-feathered roosters [Wen's Yellow A; initial body weight (BW) = 2.37 ± 0.33 kg] were individually weighed, divided into four BW blocks, and randomly assigned within block to the 16 dietary treatments with replicates of three roosters. The diets consisted of a corn basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with 8% of corn oil (CO), soybean oil (SO), cottonseed oil (CSO), rice bran oil (RBO), palm oil (PO), modified palm oil (MPO), or lard were evaluated with or without an emulsifier (0.02% of diet) in an 8 × 2 factorial arrangement. Diets were fed for 8 d, with 4 d for adaptation to diets and another 4 d for excreta collection. There was an interaction between lipid sources and emulsifier on ME (apparent ME and N-corrected apparent ME) of the lipids (P0.05). Addition of 0.02% emulsifier had no effect on the ME of CO, SO, PO, or lard, but reduced the ME of CSO (P0.05) and MPO (P0.05), and tended to increase the ME of RBO (0.05 ≤ P0.10). There was a quadratic relationship between ME and concentration of stearic (C18:0) (P0.05) or linoleic acid (C18:2) (0.05 ≤ P0.10), and a linear function between ME and concentration of oleic acid (C18:1) or monounsaturated fatty acids (P0.05) in diets without emulsifier. The ME of lipids could be predicted by the concentration of C18:0 with C18:1 or with monounsaturated fatty acid without an emulsifier. With an emulsifier, the ME concentration was affected linearly by the concentration of myristic acid (C14:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), C18:2, polyunsaturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, and the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids (U:S) (P0.05). Prediction equations for the ME of lipid were established on the content of C18:0, C16:0, C14:0, SFA, and U:S. These results indicated that the ME of RBO is positively affected by emulsifiers, but the ME of CSO and MPO declines with emulsifiers. These inconsistent results may be influenced by the relationship between ME and concentration of fatty acid across sources of dietary lipids.Considering that commercial diets generally contain 3% to 8% added lipids to provide up to 20% metabolizable energy (ME) in broiler diets, the addition of emulsifier in diets was believed to improve the digestibility of fat. In this experiment, seven sources of lipid with or without emulsifier addition were evaluated for ME in yellow-feathered broilers. Without emulsifier addition, ME values were observed highest for cottonseed oil [4,129 kcal/kg∙ dry matter (DM)] and lowest for rice bran oil (4,036 kcal/kg∙DM) and lard (4,015 kcal/kg∙DM). With emulsifier addition, ME values were highest for soybean oil (4,177 kcal/kg∙DM) and lowest for modified palm oil (4,059 kcal/kg∙DM) and lard (4,024 kcal/kg∙DM). The emulsifier has a positive effect on the ME of rice bran oil, but the ME of cottonseed oil and modified palm oil declines with the addition of emulsifiers. These inconsistent results may be influenced by the relationship between ME and concentration of fatty acids across sources of dietary lipids. Lipids with high concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids are more easily emulsified and better digested than those rich in saturated fatty acids. Additionally, the concentration of C18:0 and C18:1 in lipids contributed to the main variance of ME prediction equation.

Three experiments were conducted to determine the metabolizable energy (ME) and nitrogen-corrected ME (MEn) contents of hydrolyzed feather meal (HFM) and flash-dried poultry protein (FDPP) for broiler chickens and to determine their digestible energy (DE) and ME for pigs. The energy-yielding ingredients in a reference diet (RD) were replaced at 0, 75, or 150 g/kg by HFM in experiment (Exp.) 1; at 0, 75, or 150 g/kg by FDPP in Exp. 2; and at 0, 150 g/kg HFM, or 150 g/kg FDPP in Exp. 3. Birds were fed a standard broiler starter diet from hatch to days 18 and 17 for respective Exp. 1 and 2, following which 144 birds (8 replicate cages of 6 birds per cage) were assigned to the three experimental diets in a randomized complete block design with body weight as the blocking factor. Experimental diets were fed for 5 d, and excreta were collected during the last 3 d. Twenty-four 20-kg barrows, individually housed in metabolic crates equipped with a feeder and drinker, were used in Exp. 3. The barrows were assigned to the three experimental diets in a randomized complete block design with body weight as a blocking factor. Following a 5-d adaptation period, feces and urine were collected for 5 d in a total collection method. Data were used to determine the regression-derived ME and MEn of HFM and FDPP for broiler chickens in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. The DE and ME of HFM and FDPP for pigs in Exp. 3 were determined using the difference procedure. In Exp. 1, the inclusion of HFM linearly increased (P0.05) ME from 3,231 to 3,368 kcal/kg DM for 0 to 150 g/kg replacement of RD. The total tract retention of DM and metabolizability of energy linearly increased (P0.05) as replacement of RD with FDPP increased from 0 to 150 g/kg in Exp. 2. Inclusion of FDPP linearly increased (P0.01) ME from 3,425 to 3,591 kcal/kg DM. In Exp. 3, the diets containing 150 g/kg HFM or FDPP induced greater (P0.05) fecal DM and energy losses than the RD; however, the digestibility of energy across the three experimental diets was not different. The respective regression-derived ME and MEn of hydrolyzed feather meal for broiler chickens in the current study were 4,250 and 3,745 kcal/kg DM with corresponding values of 4,710 and 4,081 kcal/kg DM for flash-dried poultry protein. In pigs, 4,783 and 4,405 kcal/kg DM were the respective DE and ME of hydrolyzed feather meal, and 4,553 and 4,320 kcal/kg DM were the corresponding estimates for flash-dried poultry protein.The animal production industry is presented with the challenge to develop innovative methods to meet future environmental and economic needs. One of the ways through which global animal scientists could combat this onus is to broaden the scope of conventional feed ingredients, most importantly are those feed ingredients that could supply dietary energy. The current research evaluated the energy values of two feed ingredients: hydrolyzed feather meal (HFM) and flash-dried poultry protein (FDPP) for broiler chickens and pigs. The utilizable proportions in the test ingredients were derived as digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy (MEn) on a dry matter (DM) basis. The derived ME and MEn concentrations in HFM were 4,250 and 3,745 kcal/kg DM, whereas those in FDPP were 4,710 and 4,081 kcal/kg DM, respectively, for broiler chickens. The respective DE and ME concentrations in HFM and FDPP for pigs were 4,783 and 4,405 kcal/kg DM and 4,553 and 4,320 kcal/kg DM. Using a combination of regression method and difference procedure, we showed that hydrolyzed feather meal and flash-dried poultry protein have substantial energy values.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of supplementing arginine (Arg) + glutamine (Gln) replacing antibiotics on performance, immune response, and antioxidant capacity of pigs in the growing phase. One hundred fifty 63-d-old pigs with initial body weight (BW) of 25.0 ± 1.46 kg were distributed in a randomized block design, with three treatments and ten replicates. The three diets were control; antibiotic, control + 100 mg/kg tiamulin and 506 mg/kg oxytetracycline; amino acid, control + 10 g/kg Arg and 2 g/kg Gln. Dietary treatments were fed from 63 to 77 d. Following the treatment period, all pigs were fed the control diet from 77 to 90 d. Data were analyzed using GLIMMIX and UNIVARIATE in SAS 9.4. From 63 to 70 d, pigs fed diets with antibiotics had improved (P0.05) average daily feed intake, average daily weight gain (ADG), gain to feed ratio (G:F), and 70-d BW compared to those fed control or amino acid diets. From 70 to 77 d, including antibiotics in the diet increased (P0.05) ADG and 77-d BW. From 77 to 90 d, pigs fed control or amino acid diets had greater (P0.05) ADG than those fed an antibiotic diet. From 63 to 90 d, although pig performance was not affected (P0.05), growth curve of pigs fed the antibiotic diets was different (P0.05) from those fed the control and amino acids diets. At 70 d, serum tumor necrosis factor-α and diamine oxidase (DAO) were lower (P0.05) in pigs fed the antibiotic diet than the control diet, and pigs fed the amino acid diet had intermediate results. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was lower (P0.05) in pigs fed the amino acid diet than the antibiotic diet, and pigs fed the control diet had intermediate results. Serum immunoglobulin A was lower (P0.05) in pigs fed the antibiotic diet. At 77 d, DAO and serum immunoglobulin G were lower (P0.05) in pigs fed the antibiotic diet. FRAP was lower (P0.05) in pigs fed the amino acid and control diets. Serum malondialdehyde was higher (P0.05) in pigs fed the amino acid diet than those fed the control diet, and pigs fed the antibiotic diet had intermediate results. At 90 d, antibiotics or amino acids did not affect (P0.05) serum parameters. Amino acid blend supplementation at the selected doses in this study did not positively affect growing pigs. Although from 63 to 77 d, antibiotics improved performance, when considering the overall study period, growing pigs did not benefit from a diet containing antibiotics.Dietary antibiotics have been used in pig farming practices to avoid health problems, improving animal growth performance. However, antimicrobial resistance due to the use of antibiotics in farms is considered to be a global health challenge. Arginine and glutamine are amino acids with potential to improve gut health, immune function, and growth performance. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the supplementation of those amino acids as an alternative to the use of dietary antibiotic for pigs. Moreover, after a 14-d treatment phase, we still monitor the pigs to evaluate the carryover effects of the antibiotics and amino acids. Amino acid supplementation at the selected doses in this study did not positively affect pigs. Although during the treatment phase, antibiotics improved performance, when considering the overall study period, pigs did not benefit from a diet containing antibiotics. Thus, antibiotics caused transient alterations in pig performance and should be further investigated, potentially guiding future research on its use and alternative technologies.

Two experiments were conducted to investigate increasing unground and finely ground soybean hulls fed in meal or pelleted form on nursery and finishing pig performance. In experiment 1, 1,100 nursery pigs (initially 6.8 ± 0.1 kg and 28 d of age) were used in a 42-d study with 11 replicates per treatment. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of soybean hulls (10% vs. 20%), grind type (unground, 617 µ vs. ground, 398 µ), and diet type (pelleted vs. meal form). No three-way or soybean hull level × grind type interactions were observed. Overall, average daily gain (ADG) was increased (P < 0.05) by pelleting, decreased (P < 0.05) by grinding, but unaffected by soybean hull levels. Grind type × diet form interactions were observed (P < 0.05) for gain:feed ratio (G:F) and a tendency for average daily feed intake (ADFI; P < 0.10). This was because grinding soybean hulls decreased (P < 0.05) ADFI and increased (P < 0.05) G:F when fed in meal form; however, grinding did not affect ADFI and decreased (P < 0.05) G:F when diets were pelleted. Increasing soybean hulls increased (P < 0.05) ADFI and decreased (P < 0.05) G:F when diets were fed in meal form, but these effects were not observed when diets were pelleted (diet form × soybean hull level interaction, P < 0.06). In experiment 2, 1,215 pigs (initially 21.1 ± 0.1 kg) were used in a 118-d study with nine replications per treatment. Treatments were a corn–soybean meal–based control diet and four diets arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with the main effects of soybean hulls (7.5% vs. 15%) and grind type (unground, 787 µ vs. ground, 370 µ). All diets were fed in meal form. No soybean hull level × grind type interactions were observed for any growth or carcass responses. Increasing dietary soybean hulls from 0% to 15%, regardless of particle size, did not affect ADG or ADFI, but decreased (linear, P < 0.02) G:F. Carcass yield, hot carcass weight, and backfat depth decreased (linear, P < 0.03) whereas percentage lean increased (linear, P < 0.01) with increasing soybean hulls. Pigs fed ground soybean hulls had increased backfat depth (P < 0.01) and decreased (P < 0.01) percentage lean and fat-free lean index. In summary, increasing soybean hulls up to 20% decreased G:F in nursery and finishing pigs, whereas pelleting nursery diets improved ADG and eliminated the negative effect of increasing soybean hulls on G:F. Grinding soybean hulls reduced growth performance in nursery and finishing pigs.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with 2 sources of fiber, sugar beet pulp (SBP), and wheat bran (WB), on sow performance, milk quality, and intestinal health in piglets. Forty-five multiparous sows at day 85 of gestation were allocated to the following 3 treatments: 1) a corn-soybean meal basal diet (CON); 2) the CON diet supplemented with 20% SBP in gestation and 10% SBP in lactation (SBP); and 3) the CON diet supplemented with 30% WB in gestation and 15% WB in lactation (WB). The SBP diets increased (P < 0.05) sow ADFI during lactation, litter and piglet weaning weight, piglet ADG, immunoglobulin A (IgA), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels in the colostrum and IgA levels in the milk, while the WB diets only increased (P < 0.05) IL-10 levels in the milk when compared with the CON diets. Piglets from SBP-fed sows had greater (P < 0.05) serum growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 levels than those from WB-fed or CON-fed sows, whereas piglets from WB-fed sows had greater (P < 0.05) serum GH levels than those from CON-fed sows. Serum diamine oxidase activity, endotoxin, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were reduced (P < 0.05) in piglets from SBP-fed or WB-fed sows. Piglets from SBP-fed sows also had greater (P < 0.05) serum IL-10 levels than those from CON-fed sows. The ileal mRNA expression of TNF-α was reduced (P < 0.05) in piglets from SBP-fed or WB-fed sows. Piglets from SBP-fed sows had lower (P < 0.05) IL-6 expression, and greater (P < 0.05) IL-10 expression and secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) levels in the ileum than those from WB- or CON-fed sows. Piglets from WB-fed sows had greater (P < 0.05) IL-10 expression and SIgA levels compared with those from CON-fed sows. The ileal mRNA expression of occludin in the ileum was greater (P < 0.05) in piglets from SBP-fed sows than those from CON-fed sows. The ileal mRNA expression of ZO-1 was greater (P < 0.05) in piglets from WB-fed sows than those from CON-fed sows, but lower (P < 0.05) than those from SBP-fed sows. Piglets from SBP-fed sows had greater (P < 0.05) abundance of Christensenellaceae and butyrate levels in the colon, while piglets from WB-fed sows had greater (P < 0.05) abundance of Lactobacillaceae. Collectively, maternal SBP supplementation was more effective than WB in improving milk quality, enhancing growth performance and intestinal barrier function, and ameliorating intestinal inflammation in piglets.

This study was to explore metabolic effects of two forms and concentrations of supplemental methionine in grower and finisher diets for broiler chickens raised at high temperature. Male Cornish cockerel chicks (total = 360, day-old) were divided into four groups (10 pens/treatment, 9 chicks/pen) and fed with 100% or 130% required methionine in the diets as DL-methionine (DL-MET) or 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butanoate (HMTBA). The room was maintained at 4 to 13 °C above the suggested thermoneutral temperature. The higher concentration of both DL-MET and HMTBA enhanced (P < 0.05) hepatic GSH concentrations of the growers and plasma ferric reducing ability of the finishers. The DL-MET-fed growers had greater (P < 0.05%) muscle GSH and hepatic unsaturated fatty acid concentrations than those fed HMTBA. Expression of inflammation-related genes in the liver of finishers was affected (P < 0.05) by interaction effects of the methionine form and concentration. In conclusion, effects of the extra methionine supplementation on the high ambient temperature-related metabolic responses of broilers varied with their age and(or) tissue and the methionine form.

Limited evidence is available to validate beneficial responses from extra nutrient supplements for mediation of growth suppression that results from immune challenges. Extrarenal roles of vitamin D metabolites in immune function implicate vitamin D3 supplements as a nutrient for potential beneficial effects. The current objective was to assess growth and bone ash responses to dietary vitamin D3 (D) supplements for growing pigs undergoing an immune challenge. At weaning, 216 crossbred pigs (4 pigs/pen, 6 pens/treatment) were randomly allotted within sex and weight blocks to 1 of the 9 treatments. Treatments included D supplements (0, 100, or 800 IU/kg) in a factorial arrangement with 3 vaccine (V) protocols; no injection (0 × V), a single 2 mL injection of a Lawsonia intracellularis vaccine at day 14 (1 × V), or 2 mL injections of the same vaccine at days 0 and 7 (2 × V). An adjustment diet with no supplemental D was fed for 1 wk, then assigned D diets for 2 wk (P2). After P2, all pigs were phase-fed standard diets (D = 280 IU/kg) to assess subsequent growth to 115 kg. No differences due to D supplements or vaccination protocol were detected in ADG (0.233 ± 0.021 kg/d) or GF (0.642 ± 0.028 kg/d) over the 21-d nursery trial; however, ADFI was lower (P < 0.10) in pigs fed D levels of 0 vs. 100 and 800 (0.340 vs. 0.375, 0.372 ± 0.027 kg/d). Bone mineral content (g) from whole-body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans at 9 wk (n = 4 pigs/treatment) was lower in pigs fed 0 vs. 100 and 800 IU of D (287 vs. 325, 323 ± 34.1 g/pig). Growth from nursery to 115 kg was lower (P < 0.01) in pigs fed D levels of 0 vs.100 and 800 (0.828 vs. 0.876, 0.889 ± 0.021 kg/d). At market, approximately two-thirds of pigs showed positive L. intracellularis serology titers regardless of treatment. Limited evidence for D-mediation of an immune challenge using the vaccination protocols may be a consequence of limited vaccine effects on growth in the nursery and seroconversion of most pigs to L. intracellularis by market.

Vitamin B6 (VB6) is an important coenzyme factor which participates in many metabolic reactions, especially amino acid metabolism. There are few reports on how VB6 mediates weaned piglet intestinal health. This study purposed to investigate dietary VB6 effects on growth, diarrhea rates, and intestinal morphology and function in weaned piglets fed a high-crude protein (22% CP) diet. Eighteen 21-d-old weaned [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] piglets with body weights of 7.03 ± 0.15 (means ± SEM) kg were randomly assigned into 3 VB6-containing dietary treatments. Vitamin B6 content was: 0, 4, and 7 mg/kg, respectively. The feeding period lasted 14 d. The results showed that no significant difference existed for the growth performance. The 7 mg/kg VB6 group had a tendency to decrease diarrhea rate (P = 0.065). Blood biochemical parameters analysis demonstrated that total protein, cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein significantly increased in the 7 mg/kg VB6 group (P < 0.05). In the jejunum, no significant differences were detected for villus height, villus width, crypt depth, villus height and crypt depth ratios, and positive Ki67 counts and the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines. Vitamin B6 significantly increased the mRNA expression of SLC6A19 and SLC6A20 (P < 0.05) and decreased the mRNA expression of SLC36A1 (P < 0.05). In the ileum, VB6 significantly increased villus height and villus width (P < 0.05) while decreased positive Ki67 cell counts for 7 mg/kg VB6 group (P < 0.05). Vitamin B6 had significantly increased the mRNA expression of interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α,cyclo-oxygen-ase-2, and transforming growth factor-β (P < 0.05). Vitamin B6 also had significantly increased mRNA expression of SLC6A19, SLC7A6, SLC7A7, and SLC36A1 (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that dietary supplementation with VB6 may affect the intestinal morphology and absorption and metabolism of protein in weaned piglets fed a high-protein diet by altering the expression of intestinal inflammatory cytokines and amino acid transporters.

A proprietary antimicrobial feed additive comprised of essential oils, medium-chain fatty acids, and a toxin-adsorbing mineral showed promising bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects in vitro. This study investigated the impacts of supplementing this blend on growth, gut microbiome, and enteric disease resilience in weaned pigs experimentally challenged with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Thirty-six weanling pigs (6.88 ± 0.30 kg body weight) blocked by weight and gender were assigned to one of three dietary treatments: control or dietary supplementation with 0.25% or 0.50% of the antimicrobial blend. This study lasted 28 d with 7 d before and 21 d after the first ETEC inoculation (day 0). All pigs were orally inoculated with 1010 CFU F18 + ETEC/3-mL dose for 3 consecutive days. Growth performance data and diarrhea scores were recorded throughout the experiment. Fecal samples collected on days -7, 0, 7, and 21 post first inoculation (PI), and ileal digesta and mucosal tissue collected on day 21 PI were further analyzed for gut microbiome using 16S rRNA sequencing. All data, except for frequency of diarrhea and gut microbiome, were analyzed by ANOVA using the PROC MIXED of SAS. The chi-square test was used for analyzing frequency of diarrhea. Gut microbiome data were analyzed using QIIME2 and visualized using the R program. Dietary supplementation of 0.25% or 0.5% of the antimicrobial blend increased (P 0.05) feed efficiency on days 14 to 21 PI of ETEC and reduced (P 0.05) frequency of diarrhea during the study. Compared with the control group, adding 0.5% dietary antimicrobial blend increased (P 0.05) relative abundance of Firmicutes but reduced (P 0.05) Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria in feces on day 7 PI. Pigs that received the antimicrobial blend also had higher (P 0.05) relative abundance of Lactobacillaceae, but lower (P 0.05) relative abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in feces on day 7 PI than pigs in control. In conclusion, supplementation of this antimicrobial blend at 0.5% reduced incidence of severe diarrhea in weaned pigs challenged with F18 ETEC and enhanced feed efficiency of weaned pigs at the last week of the experiment. Supplementation of this antimicrobial blend also modified the microbiota diversity in feces and ileal mucosa of weaned pigs.This experiment aims to investigate an antimicrobial blend consisting of essential oils, medium-chain fatty acids, and a toxin-adsorbing mineral on diarrhea, growth performance, and gut microbiome of newly weaned pigs experimentally infected with a pathogenic Escherichia coli (F18 E. coli). A total of 36 weaned pigs were randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments: (1) a complex control diet that met the nutrient requirement of weaned pigs; (2) supplementing 0.25% of the antimicrobial blend; and (3) 0.50% of the antimicrobial blend. The experiment lasted 28 d with 7 d adaptation and 21 d after the first F18 E. coli inoculation. Results of this experiment demonstrate that supplementation of this antimicrobial blend enhanced disease resistance of weaned pigs, as indicated by reduced frequency of diarrhea during the entire experimental period. An improved feed efficiency was also observed in pigs supplemented with antimicrobial blend at the last week of the experiment. In addition, feces collected on day 7 post-E. coli inoculation contained relatively more Lactobacillaceae but less Enterobacteriaceae when pigs were supplemented with this antimicrobial blend. In conclusion, supplementation of antimicrobial blend could reduce diarrhea of E. coli-infected pigs and modify fecal microbiome of weaned pigs during the peak of E. coli infection.

The study aimed to assess the effect of vitamin E (VE) supplementation and fat source on growth performance, lean growth, organ size, carcass characteristics, and pork quality of pigs at a heavy slaughter weight of 150 kg. A total of 64 pigs (32 barrows and 32 gilts; 28.41 ± 0.83 kg) were blocked by sex and body weight, and randomly assigned to one of eight dietary treatments (n = 8 per treatment) in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement with main effects of fat source (corn starch [CS; no fat added], 5% tallow [TW], 5% distiller's corn oil [DCO], and 5% coconut oil [CN]) and VE supplementation level (11 and 200 ppm). Five-phase diets were formulated to meet requirement estimates of NRC and fed to pigs with each period of 25 kg from 25 to 150 kg. Increasing dietary VE supplementation from 11 to 200 ppm tended to increase average daily gain (ADG) in phase 5 (P = 0.08), and gain to feed ratio (G/F) in phase 4 (P = 0.06) and phase 5 (P = 0.06) resulting in increased G/F in the overall period (P = 0.10). Compared with the pigs fed the CS diet in the overall period, the pigs fed DCO diets had greater ADG (P0.05), the pigs fed the TW and CN diets had lower average daily feed intake (P0.05), and the pigs fed the fat-added diets had greater G/F (P0.05). Belly firmness was greatest in the pigs fed the CN diet and lowest in those fed the DCO diet (P0.05). Increasing dietary VE level from 11 to 200 ppm increased absolute and relative liver weight, absolute ham yield (P0.05), and tended to increase the relative yield of picnic shoulder (P = 0.07) and ham (P = 0.06) and the pigs fed the corn oil diet tended to have greater belly yield (P = 0.08) than the other fat treatments. Increasing dietary VE level increased 45-min pH and ΔpH at slaughter but decreased a* value, chroma (P0.10), and belly depth (P0.05). However, no effects of VE supplementation and fat source were observed on the other carcass traits and meat quality measurements. In conclusion, increasing dietary VE level from 11 to 200 ppm slightly increased growth rate and feed efficiency in the late finishing periods, and the addition of fat increased feed efficiency and backfat thickness, decreased lean content, and altered belly firmness. While there were some effects of VE supplementation and fat source observed on organ weight, primal cuts, carcass traits, and meat quality, there was no strong evidence that VE supplementation and fat source materially affected these measurements except for belly firmness.The study aimed to assess the effect of vitamin E (VE) supplementation and fat source on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and pork quality of pigs slaughtered at 150 kg. Fat sources included corn starch (no fat added), or 5% tallow, distiller’s corn oil (DCO), or coconut oil (CN); VE supplementation levels were 11 and 200 ppm. Increasing dietary VE from 11 to 200 ppm tended to increase the efficiency of conversion of feed to body weight gain for the overall study period. The pigs fed the DCO diet had greater backfat depth at slaughter. Belly (from which bacon is made) firmness was greatest in the pigs fed the CN diet and lowest in those fed the DCO diet. In conclusion, increasing dietary VE levels from 11 to 200 ppm slightly increased growth rate and feed efficiency, and the addition of fat increased feed efficiency and backfat thickness, decreased lean muscle content, and altered belly firmness. While there were some effects of VE supplementation and fat source, there was no strong evidence that VE supplementation and fat source materially affected these measurements except for belly firmness.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementing low-protein diets with sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) and glucose on growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs. A total of 80 crossbred (Duroc × Landrace × Large White) growing barrows (27 ± 0.4 kg body weight) were allocated randomly to one of the five treatments during three successive 4-wk periods. There were five diets in each phase. Diet 1 was the control diet with normal protein levels (CON) where protein levels in the three phases were 18%, 16.5%, and 15.5%, respectively. The dietary protein levels of Diets 2, 3, 4, and 5 (the low-protein diets, LP) were decreased by 4.5% compared to Diet 1. Additionally, Diets 3 and 4 were supplemented with an extra 120 mg/kg DCA (LP + DCA) or 1.8% glucose (LP + GLUC), respectively. Diet 5 was further supplemented with an extra 120 mg/kg DCA and 1.8% glucose (LP + DCA + GLUC). The LP + DCA diet increased the average daily weight gain of pigs compared to the CON and LP diet in phase 3 and the overall experimental period (P < 0.001). The LP diet reduced the gain:feed ratios of the pigs compared to the CON, LP + DCA, and LP + DCA + GLUC diets in phase 1 and the overall experimental period (P < 0.001). Furthermore, gain:feed ratios in LP + DCA and LP + DCA + GLUC groups did not differ from that of the CON group (P > 0.10). Pigs fed the LP + DCA diet had higher pH values of meat at 24 h post-mortem than the CON group (P < 0.05). The LP + DCA + GLUC diet increased the total protein content in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of pigs, compared to the other dietary treatments (P < 0.05), and increased the Arg and Leu contents in the LD muscle compared to the LP + DCA diet (P < 0.05). Moreover, the LP + DCA diet induced a higher C18:1n9t percentage in the LD muscle of pigs compared to other groups (P < 0.05). In conclusion, an LP diet reduced the feed efficiency in pigs and barely affected meat quality, whereas 120 mg/kg DCA supplementation in an LP diet improved the growth performance of growing-finishing pigs, showed modest effects on carcass traits, and improved the muscle protein content with the addition of glucose.

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that increased dietary Trp is needed in high-Leu diets for growing pigs to prevent a drop in plasma serotonin and hypothalamic serotonin concentrations and to maintain growth performance of animals. A total of 144 growing pigs (initial weight: 28.2 ± 1.9 kg) were assigned to 9 treatments in a randomized complete block design with 2 blocks, 2 pigs per pen, and 8 replicate pens per treatment. The 9 diets were formulated in a 3 × 3 factorial with 3 levels of dietary Leu (101%, 200%, or 299% standardized ileal digestible [SID] Leu:Lys), and 3 levels of dietary Trp (18%, 23%, or 28% SID Trp:Lys). A basal diet that met requirements for SID Leu and SID Trp was formulated and 8 additional diets were formulated by adding crystalline L-Leu and (or) L-Trp to the basal diet. Individual pig weights were recorded at the beginning of the experiment and at the conclusion of the 21-d experiment. On the last day of the experiment, 1 pig per pen was sacrificed, and blood and hypothalamus samples were collected to measure plasma urea N, plasma serotonin, and hypothalamic serotonin concentrations. Results indicated that increasing dietary Trp increased (P < 0.05) hypothalamic serotonin, whereas increases (P < 0.05) in average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) were observed only in pigs fed diets containing excess Leu. Increasing dietary Leu reduced (P < 0.05) ADG, ADFI, and hypothalamic serotonin. However, the increase in ADG and ADFI caused by dietary Trp was greater if 299% SID Leu:Lys was provided than if 101% SID Leu:Lys was provided (interaction, P < 0.05). Plasma Leu concentration was positively affected by dietary Leu and negatively affected by dietary Trp, but the negative effect of Trp was greater if 299% SID Leu:Lys was provided than if 101% SID Leu:Lys was provided (interaction, P < 0.05). Plasma concentration of Trp was positively affected by increased dietary Trp and increased dietary Leu, but the increase in plasma concentration of Trp was greater if Leu level was at 101% SID Leu:Lys ratio than at 299% SID Leu:Lys ratio (interaction, P < 0.05). In conclusion, increased dietary Leu reduced ADG, ADFI, and hypothalamic serotonin concentration, and influenced metabolism of several indispensable amino acids, but Trp supplementation partly overcame the negative effect of excess Leu. This demonstrates the importance of Trp in regulation of hypothalamic serotonin, and therefore, feed intake of pigs.

A total of 601 pigs from 65 litters were used to determine the effects of closely meeting estimated daily Lys and energy requirements for sows during gestation for three consecutive parities on offspring postweaning growth performance and carcass and loin quality at slaughter. Sows were assigned a control (static diet composition; CON) or precision (individual daily blend of two diets to meet estimated Lys and energy requirements; PRE) feeding program between days 7 and 110 of gestation for three consecutive pregnancy cycles, starting with primiparous sows (parity 1: 12 CON and 12 PRE sows; parity 2: 8 CON and 13 PRE sows; parity 3: 8 CON and 12 PRE sows). At weaning (20 ± 2 d of age), up to 10 pigs per litter were randomly selected and placed in a pen (1 litter per pen). All pens received ad libitum access to commercial diets in six phases (four-phase nursery, grower, and finisher, respectively). Four pigs per pen were slaughtered at ~125 kg BW for evaluation of carcass characteristics and loin quality. The ADG and ADFI of offspring were not influenced by maternal feeding program in any parity during nursery phases I through III. During nursery phase IV, ADG and ADFI were greater for litters from PRE- vs. CON-fed sows (0.70 vs. 0.66 ± 0.03 and 1.15 vs. 1.08 ± 0.06 kg/d for ADG and ADFI, respectively; P < 0.05). The BW for litters from PRE- vs. CON-fed sows tended to be greater by day 66 of age (end of nursery period; 29.7 vs. 28.7 ± 1.1 kg; P = 0.076). Within the grower phase, litters from PRE-fed sows had a greater ADG in parity 2 but lower ADG in parity 3 vs. litters from CON-fed sows (0.99 vs. 0.94 and 0.93 vs. 1.01 ± 0.03 kg/d for parities 2 and 3, respectively; P < 0.05). No differences were observed for ADG or ADFI in the finisher phase or G:F in any phase for any parity. Loin eye area was smaller (52.2 vs. 55.0 ± 1.8 cm2; P < 0.05) for offspring from PRE- vs. CON-fed sows. In parity 2, carcass lean yield tended to be less for offspring from PRE- vs. CON-fed sows (58.6 vs. 59.6 ± 0.4%; P = 0.051). Minimal differences were observed for subjective and objective evaluations of loin quality. Closely meeting the estimated daily energy and Lys requirements for sows throughout gestation for three consecutive pregnancy cycles improved offspring growth performance (ADG and ADFI) in the final nursery stage, but generally did not affect growth performance in grower/finisher periods or carcass and loin quality at ~125 kg BW.

This study was aimed to explore the effect of using cassava as an amylopectin source in low protein (LP) diets on growth performance, nitrogen efficiency, and postprandial changes in plasma glucose and related hormones concentrations of growing pigs. Three animal experiments were included in the present study. Treatments included corn-soybean meal LP (Corn LP), corn-cassava-soybean meal LP (Corn + Cassava LP), and cassava-soybean meal LP (Cassava LP). The in vitro digestion proved that Corn + Cassava LP and Cassava LP diets induced more rapid starch digestion and glucose release, compared with Corn LP diet. The results of animal experiments are as follows: Cassava LP diet caused the most rapid changes in plasma glucose and relevant hormones concentrations after a meal. It decreased the concentrations of fasting plasma insulin, glucagon, and leptin concentrations compared with other treatments (P < 0.05). These modulations above led to a strong desire to eat and increased feed intake and then weight gain in growing pigs fed Cassava LP diet. Besides, feeding Cassava LP diet caused diarrhea, increased noxious gas release from feces, and increased concentrations of fecal isobutyrate and isovalerate (P < 0.05). Compared with Corn LP group, Corn + Cassava LP group showed significantly decreased urinary nitrogen (P < 0.05) and improved post-absorptive amino acid utilization efficiency. In conclusion, the use of cassava as an amylopectin source in LP diets could modulate glucose absorption and related gut secreted hormones secretion, subsequently strengthened the desire to eat, improved growth performance, and enhanced nitrogen efficiency in growing pigs.

The objectives were to determine the digestible energy and standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids (AA; Exp. 1) and to determine growth performance (Exp. 2) of two sources of dietary spray-dried plasma protein (SDPP) in nursery pigs. In Exp. 1, twelve nursery barrows (9.8 ± 0.9 kg) were assigned to a quadruplicated 3 × 2 Latin square design with three diets and two periods. Each period consisted of 5 d of adaptation, 2 d of fecal sampling, and 2 d of ileal collection. A basal diet was composed of corn, soybean meal, whey, and sucrose as the sole energy and AA sources. Experimental diets were prepared by replacing 15% of the energy and AA sources in the basal diet with SDPP 1 (manufactured in the United States; 78.2% crude protein and 4,862 kcal gross energy/kg as-is) or SDPP 2 (manufactured in Korea; 74.3% crude protein and 4,636 kcal gross energy/kg as-is). Spray-dried plasma protein 1 had greater digestible energy (P0.05), but less (P0.05) standardized ileal digestibility of Lys, Met, Trp, and Thr compared with SDPP 2. In Exp. 2, eighty-four nursery pigs (7.9 ± 0.7 kg) were allotted to three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with seven replicate pens and four pigs per pen. Three corn-soybean meal-whey-based diets contained fish meal (6% and 3.5% for days 0 to 14 and 14 to 28, respectively), SDPP 1 (4.5% and 2.7%), or SDPP 2 (5.0% and 3.0%) to maintain same energy and nutrient concentrations. During days 0 to 14 and overall period, pigs fed the diets containing SDPP gained more weight (P0.05) than those fed the fish meal diet with no difference between two SDPP sources. In conclusion, SDPP 1 contains greater digestible energy but less AA digestibility compared with SDPP 2. Growth-promoting effects of both SDPP sources in nursery diets have been clearly demonstrated in this work.Dietary spray-dried plasma protein (SDPP) is widely used in nursery pig diet due to its high nutrient contents and growth-promoting effects. In the present work, two sources of SDPP were evaluated for energy and amino acid (AA) digestibility and growth performance in nursery pigs. The SDPP 1 produced in the United States contained 78.2% crude protein and 4,862 kcal gross energy/kg and SDPP 2 produced in Korea contained 74.3% crude protein and 4,636 kcal gross energy/kg. Spray-dried plasma protein 1 had a greater digestible energy concentration, but less AA digestibility compared with SDPP 2. Pigs fed the diets containing SDPP consumed more feed and grew faster than those fed the fish meal diet with no difference between the two sources of SDPP. Taken together, SDPP 1 contains greater digestible energy but less AA digestibility compared with SDPP 2. Growth-promoting effects of two sources of SDPP on nursery pigs are greater than fish meal with no difference between the two sources of SDPP.

The aim of the present study was to explore the influences of varying doses of micelle silymarin (0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2%) supplementation on sows’ feed intake, milk yields, serum hormones, and litter growth using 40 multiparous sows (Landrace × Yorkshire, parity from 3 to 5) from the 109th prenatal day to the 21st postnatal day. Each treatment included 10 sows and each sow was used as an experimental unit. On weaning day, litter weight and litter weight gain were linearly improved (P < 0.01, both), corresponding to the increasing dose of silymarin micelle in the diet. Also, litter weight, litter weight gain, and average daily gain (ADG) of piglets born to treated sows exceeded (P < 0.05) those of offspring from the control sows (0% micelle silymarin). Feed intake in week 1, week 2, and the entire lactation period was increased (linear, P < 0.01) as micelle silymarin dose increased. Body weight (BW) loss of sows during lactation was linearly reduced (P = 0.003) with the increasing amounts of micelle silymarin. Average daily milk yields during lactation were also linearly increased (P = 0.002) in treated sows, exceeding (P = 0.046) that of control sows. Also, uniform increases were observed (P = 0.037) in fat content in milk produced by treated sows on day 14 of lactation. Epinephrine concentrations and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity in sow serum on day 21 postpartum were linearly declined (P = 0.010) as micelle silymarin dose increased, and were both declined (P < 0.05) in treated sows compared with the control. In addition, treated sows’ serum had higher activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) at parturition and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), lower oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentrations, and GSSG/GSH (glutathione) ratio (all, P < 0.01) on day 21 of lactation. Moreover, offspring from micelle silymarin-treated sows tended to (0.05 < P

Reduction in dietary crude protein and addition of fiber could mitigate the incidence and severity of post-weaning diarrhea, a common gastrointestinal condition in newly weaned pigs. Therefore, 360 weanling pigs, initially 5.0 ± 0.10 kg, were used to evaluate the effects of crude protein (CP) level and fiber source on growth performance and fecal microbial communities. At weaning, pigs were randomly assigned to pens and allotted to 1 of 8 dietary treatments in a 2 × 4 factorial with main effects of CP (21 or 18%) and fiber source (none, coarse wheat bran, oat hulls, or cellulose). There were 5 pigs per pen and 9 pens per treatment. Experimental diets were formulated in two dietary phases from d 0 to 10 and 10 to 24, with a common post-treatment diet fed from 24 to 45. The 21% CP diets contained 1.40% standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys in phase 1 and 1.35% SID Lys in phase 2. By using a maximum SID Lys:digestible CP ratio of 6.35%, the 18% CP diets contained 1.25% SID Lys in both phases. Diets containing a fiber source were formulated to the level of insoluble fiber provided by 4% coarse wheat bran, resulting in the addition of 1.85% oat hulls and 1.55% cellulose. No fiber source × CP level interactions (P > 0.05) were observed. Decreasing CP (and subsequently SID lysine) decreased (P = 0.05) ADG and G:F during the experimental period. From d 0 to 45, ADG decreased (P = 0.05) for pigs fed 18% CP diets compared to pigs fed 21% CP. No effect of fiber source was observed for growth performance. Fecal DM on d 17 increased (P < 0.001) for pigs fed 18% CP diets compared to pigs fed 21% CP diets. Pigs fed diets with added cellulose had increased (P < 0.05) fecal dry matter during the experimental period compared to pigs fed no fiber source or wheat bran. Bacterial community structure was investigated by sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Analysis indicated a significant difference between CP content at d 24 (P = 0.023) using a Weighted UniFrac distance matrix. Further investigation identified five differential Amplicon Sequence Variants associated with CP content at d 24. In conclusion, reducing crude protein (and subsequently SID Lys) decreased growth performance but increased fecal dry matter content. The source of dietary fiber in nursery diets had no impact on growth performance; but pigs fed added cellulose had increased fecal DM compared with other treatments. Microbial analysis identified differential taxa associated with CP content.

Genetic selection of pigs over recent decades has sought to reduce carcass fat content to meet consumer demands for lean meat in many countries (e.g., Australia). Due to the impacts of genetic changes, it is unknown whether the carcass fat measures are still responsive to energy intake. Thus, the present experiment aimed to quantify the relationship between tissue composition and dietary energy intake in finisher pigs selected for low carcass backfat. Intact male and female pigs (n = 56 for each sex; Primegro Genetics, Corowa, NSW, Australia) were fed seven different amounts of an amino acid adequate wheat-based diet containing 14.3 MJ digestible energy (DE)/kg to provide the following daily DE intakes- 25.8, 29.0, 32.6, 35.3, 38.5, 41.5, and 44.2 (ad libitum) MJ DE/d for males, and 25.8, 28.9, 32.0, 35.6, 38.3, 40.9, and 44.5 (ad libitum) MJ DE/d for females between 60 and 108 kg live weight. Body composition of anesthetized pigs was measured using the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) method when individual pigs reached 108 kg, and protein, fat, and ash deposition rates were calculated. Pigs were slaughtered on the second day post-DXA scan for carcass backfat measurement. The results showed that the carcass backfat thickness (standardized at 83.7 kg carcass) increased by 0.125 mm for every MJ increase in daily DE intake in male pigs (P = 0.004; R2 = 0.130), but carcass backfat of female pigs (standardized at 85.1 kg carcass) was not responsive to daily DE intake. Whole-body fat composition and fat deposition rate increased linearly (both P < 0.01) in male pigs but quadratically (both P < 0.01) in female pigs in response to DE intake. Every MJ increase of daily DE intake increased the rate of daily protein deposition by 3.8 g in intact male pigs (P < 0.001; R2 = 0.781) and by 2.5 g in female pigs (P < 0.001; R2 = 0.643). In conclusion, the selection for low backfat thickness over the last two decades has altered the response of fat deposition and backfat thickness to energy intake, particularly in female pigs. Despite this change, the linear relationship between DE intake and protein deposition rate was maintained in these modern genetics.