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Dietary fibre level and enzyme inclusion affect nutrient digestibility and excreta characteristics in grower pigs
Author(s) -
Moeser Adam J,
van Kempen Theo A T G
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.1234
Subject(s) - dry matter , dietary fibre , nutrient , feces , chemistry , zoology , food science , manure , organic matter , digestion (alchemy) , biology , agronomy , chromatography , paleontology , organic chemistry
An experiment was conducted with 12 grower pigs to determine the effects of (1) manipulating dietary neutral detergent fibre (NDF) level and (2) dietary inclusion of fibre‐degrading enzymes on nutrient digestibility and excreta characteristics in pigs. Four diets were formulated to contain three levels of NDF: 1, 66 g kg −1 NDF (low fibre); 2, 121 g kg −1 NDF (moderate fibre); 3, 222 g kg −1 NDF (high fibre); 4, diet 3 plus 2.0 g kg −1 enzyme. Increasing levels of dietary NDF linearly decreased dry matter and energy digestibilities ( r 2 = 0.99, P < 0.05). Lowering dietary NDF from 222 to 121 g kg −1 improved nitrogen digestibility by 13% ( P < 0.01). Faecal production was decreased by 9% for each 1% decrease in dietary NDF content ( r 2 = 0.99, P < 0.05). Inclusion of fibre‐degrading enzymes in the high‐fibre diet improved dry matter and energy digestibilities by 2 and 3% respectively, and reduced faecal production by 10% ( P < 0.01). Faecal and manure (faeces plus urine) pH values from pigs fed the high‐fibre diet and the high‐fibre plus enzyme diet were lower than those from pigs fed the other experimental diets ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, lowering the dietary NDF level or inclusion of fibre‐degrading enzymes in high‐fibre diets may offer relatively practical and easy methods for reducing waste production in pigs. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry