title: Effect of dietary level of protein and fiber on the productive performance and health status of piglets.
abstract: To study the interaction between the levels of protein and fiber on the productive performance and health status of piglets, ninety-six 35-d-old piglets (9.11 +/- 0.60 kg of BW) were placed in 32 pens of 3 animals each and allotted to 4 dietary treatments for 21 d. The 4 diets were based on rice, dairy products, and soybean meal in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, with 2 levels of CP (15.4 vs. 19.4%, as-fed basis) and 2 levels of dietary fiber [DF; low fiber (LF) 5.3% NDF and high fiber (HF) 7.15% NDF, as-fed basis]. The HF diet was developed by supplementing the basal diet with 40 g/kg of wheat bran and 20 g/kg of sugar beet pulp. Animal performance was obtained weekly with samples of feces collected for microbiology on the first and the last experimental day and scored from 1 (liquid) to 4 (hard). On the last day, 1 pig from each pen was sampled for blood analyses of the acute-phase protein, major acute-phase protein of pigs (PigMap) and subsequently killed to register the digestive tract weight (including contents) and colon histology. Pigs fed the HF diets had greater ADG (390 vs. 457 g; P < or = 0.001) and large intestine weight (4.4 vs. 5.4% of BW; P < or = 0.05). This coincided with a greater (P < or = 0.05) short-chain fatty acid concentration (especially of acetic and butyric acids), a decrease in Escherichia coli counts (7.77 vs. 6.86 log of cfu/g of feces, P < or = 0.05), and an increase in the ratio of lactobacilli:enterobacteria (0.76 vs. 1.37, P < or = 0.05). However, CP level did not modify the productive performance, but 20% CP increased P < or = 0.05) the relative weight (% of BW) of the small (6.5 vs. 7.7) and large intestine (3.8 vs. 4.3). In the large bowel, the 20% CP diet increased the numbers of goblet cells (4.6 vs. 5.4/100 microm; P < or = 0.05) and reduced the numbers of intraepithelial lymphocytes (1.8 vs. 1.3/100 microm; P < or = 0.05). In relation to health status, increasing DF was dependent of the dietary CP content. Supplementing the 16% CP diet with DF reduced the fecal score and increased the antibiotics interventions, whereas the opposite was the case in the 20% CP diet. Pigs fed the 20% CP diet showed decreased (P < or = 0.05) PigMap concentrations than pigs fed 16% CP diets. As a whole, CP showed major effects on the gastrointestinal weight and gut barrier integrity, whereas DF increased the productive performance and promoted major changes in the microbial colonization and fermentation variables.
authors: Animal Nutrition, Management and Welfare Research Group, Department of Animal and Food Science, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona-Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries, Campus de la Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
authors: R G
authors: RG
authors: Hermes
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Molist
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ywazaki
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Nofrarías
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Gomez de Segura
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Gasa
authors: J F
authors: JF
authors: Pérez
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D027461:Beta vulgaris; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004063:Digestion / Q000502:physiology; D007422:Intestines / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins