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This study examined the impact of mixed probiotic inclusion in a reduced crude protein (CP) diet on production performance, nutrient retention, gas emissions, faecal score and meat quality of finishing pigs. In total, 150 pigs (body weight [BW] of 49.9 ± 2.80 kg and 6‐week trial) were arbitrarily distributed to one of three dietary treatments (10 replications per treatment, five pigs including three gilts and two barrows per replication). The dietary treatments were Positive Control/standard diet, 17.5% CP (PC); Negative Control/reduced (2.5%) CP diet, 15% CP (NC); and NC + 0.1% probiotic mix (NCP). Pigs fed the NCP diet exhibited tendency to increase BW gain at Week 6, increased the average daily gain (ADG) of pigs during Weeks 3–6 and showed tendency to increase ADG during the overall period than the NC diet. The CP digestibility decreased at Week 6 and presented a tendency to decrease at Week 3 in pigs fed the NC diet compared with the PC diet. However, CP digestibility increased with the NCP diet at Weeks 3 and 6 compared with the NC diet. A tendency in the reduction of H2S emissions from pig's faeces at Weeks 3 and 6 was observed by the NCP diet compared with NC and PC diets. Pigs fed the NC diet showed a lower faecal score than the PC diet at Week 6. The NC diet resulted in lower cooking loss and drip loss to the PC diet. Moreover, longissimus muscle area showed tendency to increase, cooking loss exhibited tendency to decrease and drip loss decreased in the meat samples of pigs receiving the NCP diet compared with the NC diet alone. The NCP diet exhibited great promise in maintaining performance by enhancing the growth performance, digestibility, mitigating gas emissions and improving the quality of meat in finishing pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) often referred to as phytobiotics or botanical feed additives, are natural compounds derived from various plants, herbs, spices and other botanical sources. These feed additives are intended to serve a variety of purposes, including an immune system regulator, an antimicrobial, an antimutagenic, an antioxidant and a growth promoter. They are composed of bioactive compounds extracted from plants, including essential oils, polyphenols, terpenoids and flavonoids. They are mostly utilized as substitute antibiotic growth promoters in nonruminant (swine and poultry) livestock production, owing to the prohibition of antibiotic usage in the feed industry. It has been thoroughly examined to ascertain their impact on intestinal health and activity, correlation with animals' effective health and well‐being, productivity, food security and environmental impact. The potential uses of these feed additives depend on the properties of herbs, the comprehension of their principal and secondary components, knowledge of their mechanisms of action, the safety of animals and the products they produce. They are gaining recognition as effective and sustainable tools for promoting animal health and performance while reducing the reliance on antibiotics in nonruminant nutrition. Their natural origins, multifaceted benefits and alignment with consumer preferences make them a valuable addition to modern animal farming process. However, because of their inconsistent effects and inadequate knowledge of the mechanisms of action, their usage as a feed additive has been limited. This review offers a comprehensive assessment of the applications of PFAs as an effective feed supplement in swine and poultry nutrition. In summary, this comprehensive review provides current knowledge, identifies gaps in research and emphasizes the potential of phytogenic additives to foster sustainable and healthier livestock production systems while addressing the global concerns associated with antibiotic use in livestock farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quercetin (a predominant flavonoid) is considered to have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. This trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of graded doses of quercetin (QS) on growth efficiency, nutrient retention, faecal score, footpad lesion score, tibia ash and meat quality. In a 32‐day feeding test, a total of 576 1‐day‐old Ross 308 broilers (male) were allocated arbitrarily with an average body weight of 41 ± 0.5 g. The trial had four dietary treatments with eight repetitions of 18 birds per pen and a basal diet incorporating 0%, 0.02%, 0.04% and 0.06% of QS. As the QS dosage increased, body weight gain tended to increase linearly on Days 9–21 (p = 0.069) and overall period (p = 0.079). Similarly, feed intake increased (p = 0.009) linearly with the increasing doses of QS on Days 9–21. Likewise, there was a linear improvement in dry matter (p = 0.002) and energy (p = 0.016) digestibility after QS administration. Moreover, the inclusion of QS supplement (0%–0.06%) linearly increased (p = 0.012) tibia ash in broilers. However, the faecal score and footpad lesion score showed no significant outcome (p > 0.05). By giving broilers a graded amount of QS, the relative organ weights of breast muscle (p = 0.009) and spleen (p = 0.006) improved linearly, meat colour lightness increased (p = 0.015), redness tended to improve (p = 0.065) linearly and drip loss decreased (p = 0.015) linearly. The inclusion of QS in the graded‐level diet led to improvements in growth efficiency, nutrient absorption, meat quality and tibia ash, which recommended it as a beneficial feed additive for the broiler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to assess the impact of probiotic supplementation in the broiler diet on growth performance, nutrient utilization, noxious gas emissions, excreta micromiota and meat quality. One thousand six hundred and twenty male Ross 380 broilers (one‐day‐old, body weight, 42 ± 0.5 g and 5‐week trial) were arbitrarily chosen and assigned to three nutritive treatments (basal diet and basal diet included with 0.1%, and 0.2% probiotic mixture [Bacillus subtilis 7.0 × 107 cfu/g, Bacillus licheniformis 4.1 × 107 cfu/g]) with 30 duplicates (18 birds each). Probiotic inclusion linearly increased (p < 0.05) broiler body weight gain (BWG) during Phases 1, 2 and the overall period and decreased (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) linearly on Phase 2 and the overall period. However, feed intake (FI) and mortality rate remained unaffected (p > 0.05). Though nutrient digestibility of nitrogen (N) tendency to increase (p < 0.05), dry matter (DM) and energy (E) did not influence (p > 0.05). Inclusion of a probiotic supplement linearly increased (p < 0.05) Lactobacillus and reduced Salmonella (p < 0.05) counts in broilers. Moreover, broilers fed a diet supplement with probiotic addition linearly decreased (p < 0.05) NH3, H2S, C2O and acetic acid emissions. The graded level of probiotic addition linearly reduced (p < 0.05) cooking loss and the tendency to decrease (p < 0.05) weight of bursa of Fabricius, but had no effect (p > 0.05) on other meat quality measures. These findings indicated that increasing the level of probiotics in feed could improve growth efficiency, nutrient absorption, microbial index, meat quality and reduce gas emissions in broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the effects of high- versus low-dose (3000 vs. 300) zinc oxide (ZnO) in combination with or without a probiotic complex (0.1%) on weaned piglet production efficiency, nutrient absorption, fecal bacterial counts, noxious gas emissions, and fecal score. A 42-day experiment included 180 crossbred weaned piglets [Duroc × (Yorkshire × Landrace); 28 days old; 6.61 ± 1.29 kg] and four dietary treatments. An HZ (high ZnO) diet increased body weight at week 6, average daily gain at week 3, week 6, and overall period, and gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) at week 3 compared with an LZ (low ZnO) diet. G:F tended to increase with the LZP (LZ with probiotic) diet compared with the HZP (HZ with probiotic) diet at week 1. Escherichia coli count decreased by HZ diet compared with the LZ diet. In addition, E. coli count decreased and Lactobacillus count increased with the HZP diet compared with the LZP diet. There was no effect of treatment on nutrient digestibility, noxious gas emission, and fecal score. No interactive effect was seen between ZnO and probiotic. Therefore, high-dose ZnO inclusion improved growth performance and probiotic addition improved fecal microbiota, but no synergistic effect was found from ZnO and probiotic complex interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary fat (tallow and palm oil) supplementation on the performance, nutrient retention, backfat thickness, carcass grade, meat quality, and fatty acid profile in finishing pigs. In total, 160 finishing pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) ×Duroc] with an average body weight (BW) of 51.59 ± 1.59 kg [(16 replications/treatment, 5 pigs (3 gilts and 2 barrows)/treatment, 12-week trial] were arbitrarily distributed to 1 of 2 dietary treatments: TRT1, basal diet + tallow (2.8%); TRT2, basal diet + palm oil (2.8%). At week 8, there was tendency to increase (P < 0.10) average daily feed intake (ADFI) and decrease (P < 0.10) feed conversion ratio (FCR) in palm oil (PO) diet group, while average daily gain (ADG) showed no difference between the groups. Through the experiment, the nutrient digestibility, backfat thickness, and carcass grade did not differ (P > 0.05) between the treatment groups. In the sensory evaluation the addition of PO to the diet increased (P < 0.05) compared with the tallow diet. PO supplemented pigs showed greater fatty acid (FA) percentages of palmitoleic acid (C16:1), margaric acid (C17:0), heneicosylic acid (C21:0), ω-3 FA, ω-6: ω-3, ΣPUFA (polyunsaturated FA), and MUFA (monounsaturated FA; P < 0.05). Moreover, the percentage of SUSFA (unsaturated FA) and PUFA tended to increase (P < 0.05) in a PO group compared with the tallow group. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the addition of PO to the diet would be beneficial for finishing pigs, particularly with regard to growth performance, meat quality, and meat FA profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the growth efficiency, nutritional utilization, fecal microbial levels, and fecal score of weaned pigs were evaluated using therapeutic zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc aspartic acid chelate (Zn-Asp). In a 42-day feeding trial, 60 weaned pigs ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc) were arbitrarily allotted (age: 21 days; 7.01 ± 0.65 kg preliminary body weight) to 3 different treatment groups with 5 repetitions (2 male and 2 female piglets) in each pen. The trial had 2 different phases, including 1-21 days as phase 1, and 22-42 days as phase 2. The nutritional treatments were: basal diet as control (CON), basal diet incorporated with 3,000 ppm ZnO as TRT1, and basal diet incorporated with 750 ppm Zn-Asp as TRT2. In comparison to the CON group, the pigs in the TRT1 and TRT2 groups had greater ( p < 0.05) body weight on day 42; an average daily gain, and an average daily feed intake on days 22-42. Furthermore, during days 1-42, the average daily gain in the treatment groups trended higher ( p < 0.05) than in the CON group. Additionally, the fecal score decreased ( p < 0.05) at week 6, the lactic acid bacteria count tended to increase ( p < 0.05), and coliform bacteria presented a trend in reduction ( p < 0.05) in the TRT1 and TRT2 groups compared to the CON group. However, there was no difference in nutrient utilization ( p > 0.05) among the dietary treatments. Briefly, the therapeutic ZnO and Zn-Asp nutritional approaches could decrease fecal score and coliform bacteria, increase lactic acid bacteria, and improve growth efficiency; moreover, Zn-Asp (750 ppm) can perform a comparable role to therapeutic ZnO (3,000 ppm). So we can use Zn-Asp (750 ppm) instead of therapeutic ZnO (3,000 ppm) for the better performance of weaning pigs and the reduction of environmental pollution, as therapeutic ZnO is responsible for environmental pollution., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (© Copyright 2024 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology.)