HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jas.2007-0668v1 86/10/2609    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Liu, P. Articles by Li, S. Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Liu, P. Articles by Li, S. Y.

Effects of chito-oligosaccharide supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and fecal shedding of Escherichia coli and Lactobacilli in weaning pigs

P. Liu^*, X. S. Piao^*, S. W. Kim^*,, L. Wang^*, Y. B. Shen^*, H. S. Lee and S. Y. Li^*

^* China Agricultural University, Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Centre, Beijing 100094, China , Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Anyang 430-824, Korea

piaoxsh{at}mafic.ac.cn

Abstract

A total of 50 weaning pigs (16 d of age; 4.72 ± 0.23 kg BW) were selected to investigate the effect of dietary chito-oligosaccharide (COS) supplementation on the growth performance, fecal shedding of Escherichia coli and Lactobacilli, apparent digestibility, and small intestinal morphology. Pigs housed in individual metabolic cages were assigned randomly to 5 treatments (n = 10), including 1 basal diet (control), 3 diets with COS supplementation (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg), and 1 diet with chlortetracycline (CTC) supplementation (80 mg/kg). Fresh fecal samples were collected to evaluate shedding of E. coli and Lactobacilli on d 0, 7, 14, and 21 post-weaning. Fresh fecal samples collected from each cage during d 19 to 21 were stored frozen for determination of apparent total tract digestibility. On d 21, all pigs were euthanized to collect middle sections of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum for determination of mucosa morphology. Supplementation of COS at 100 and 200 mg/kg and CTC improved (P < 0.05) overall ADG, ADFI, and G:F in comparison with the control. The supplementation of COS at 200 mg/kg, as well as CTC, increased (P < 0.05) apparent total tract digestibility of DM, GE, CP, crude fat, Ca, and P; whereas, COS at 100 mg/kg increased (P < 0.05) the digestibility of DM, Ca and P in comparison with the control. Pigs with COS and CTC supplementation had decreased (P < 0.05) diarrhea incidence and diarrhea score than those of the control. Fecal samples from pigs with COS supplementation had greater (P < 0.05) Lactobacilli counts than those from control and CTC supplementation on d 14 and 21. However, supplementation of COS at 200 mg/kg and CTC decreased (P < 0.05) E. coli counts in the feces on d 21 compared with the control. Dietary supplementation of COS at 200 mg/kg and CTC increased (P < 0.05) villus height and villus/crypt ratio at the ileum and jejunum, and COS at 100 mg/kg also increased (P < 0.05) the villus height in ileum compared to the control. The current results indicated that dietary supplementation of COS at 100 and 200 mg/kg enhanced growth performance by increasing apparent digestibility, decreasing diarrhea incidence, and improving the small intestinal morphology.

Key Words: chito-oligosaccharide • E. coli • growth performance • intestinal morphology • Lactobacilli • pigs