Nutrition of (Göttingen) minipigs: facts, assumptions and mysteries.
Detailed guidelines are available concerning the nutrient requirements of pigs (National Research Council 1988). These nutrient requirements are based on ad libitum feeding and obtaining maximum growth, as they have originated from feeding schedules for slaughter pigs. Whether these nutrient guidelines for pigs can be applied to minipigs as well remains to be answered. Moreover, ad libitum feeding and maximum growth are not considered the optimum in scientific research. The German Society for Laboratory Animal Science has published guidelines for the composition of minipig diets, mainly based on empirical results (1993). Upon comparison of dietary guidelines for pigs and minipigs, differences can be found. At the moment it is unclear which of the two dietary guidelines guarantees that all minimum nutrient requirements of the minipig are met. Restricted feeding is often applied in studies using minipigs, in order to prevent obesity. As the two guidelines are based on ad libitum feeding, this raises the question whether restriction results in (marginal) nutrient deficiencies, which may interfere with experimental results.
Ritskes-Hoitinga
J
J
Biomedical Laboratory, Odense University, Denmark.
Bollen
P
P
D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D009307:National Academy of Sciences, U.S.; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States