A total of sixty crossbred ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) pigs with an initial body weight of 46.34 ± 0.13 kg were randomly assigned to four treatments under thermoneutral (TN, 22 °C) or heat-stress (HS, 31 °C) conditions for 54 d trial (Phase 1: 0–26 d; Phase 2: 27–54 d): a control diet (16% CP in phase 1, 14% CP in phase 2) under TN (PC), a control diet under HS (NC), a low crude protein (LCP) diet (14% CP in phase 1, 12% CP in phase 2) under HS (LCP) and an LCP diet with increased crystalline AA (an increase in 5% in Lys, Met, Thr and Trp based on calculated SID AA) (LCP5) under HS. Experimental treatments consisted of five replicate pens, with three pigs per pen. The results showed that HS reduced (p < 0.05) growth performance and nutrient digestibility compared to TN. However, LCP5 improved (p < 0.05) growth performance and nutrient digestibility compared to other HS groups. Heat stress adversely affected (p < 0.05) intestinal morphology, gut integrity and serum oxidative markers, but these effects were alleviated (p < 0.05) by LCP5 supplementation. Notably, LCP5 improved (p < 0.05) the production of butyric acids among short-chain fatty acid production and decreased (p < 0.05) proteobacteria and Spirochaetota in phylum in feces. These findings highlight the potential of LCP diets supplemented with crystalline AA as an effective nutritional strategy to mitigate the negative effects of HS on pigs, enhancing their performance, gut health and overall welfare in high-temperature environments.

A total of eight ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) barrows with an initial body weight (BW) of 33.06 ± 1.16 kg were placed in metabolism crates. The dietary treatments were structured using a 4 × 2 factorial design, which included two factors: four diet types (i.e., corn-based diet, CON; corn-plain bread meal (PBM)-based diet, PBMD; corn-sweet bread meal (SBM)-based diet, SBMD; and corn-biscuit meal (BM)-based diet (BMD) with or without 0.1% multi-enzyme supplementation). In this study, the concentrations of DE and ME were 4075 and 3981 kcal/kg dry matter (DM) in two-source bakery meals (i.e., PBM and SBM) and 4153 and 4075 kcal/kg DM in BM. The DE and ME (on a DM basis) in the bakery meals (i.e., PBM and SBM) and BM were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in corn. However, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the ATTD of DM, GE, and N among the dietary treatments, multi-enzyme, and their interaction. In summary, the bakery meals and biscuit meals investigated in this study have the potential to partially replace corn. Further research is necessary to ascertain the effects of multi-enzyme supplements on bakery meals and biscuit meals.

Kirthika P, et al. J Vet Sci. 2022 Feb;23(3):e41. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.21274

Journal of Animal Science and Technology (JAST) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal publishing original research, review articles and notes in all fields of animal science. Topics covered by the journal include: genetics and breeding, physiology, nutrition of monogastric animals, nutrition of ruminants, animal products (milk, meat, eggs and their by-products) and their processing, grasslands and roughages, livestock environment, animal biotechnology, animal behavior and welfare.

Park S, et al. J Vet Sci. 2023 Dec;25(1):e4. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.23219

This study evaluated the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AAs) in three bakery and biscuit byproducts fed to growing pigs. Five crossbred barrows fitted with a T-cannula at the distal ileum were allotted to a 5 × 5 Latin square design. The AID of CP was higher in the plain bread meal (PB) and sweet bread meal (SB) than in corn (CN) and biscuit meal (BC) (p < 0.05), while the AID of most indispensable AAs was higher in CN and PB than in BC (p < 0.05), reflecting the dietary CP and total AA concentrations. After correction for basal endogenous AA losses, the SID of CP separated the ingredients more clearly, with PB and SB higher than CN, and CN higher than BC (p < 0.05). The SID of lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan did not differ among the four ingredients, indicating that the digestible supply of these limiting AAs was maintained when corn was replaced with these ingredients. These SID values provide ingredient-level information for incorporating bakery and biscuit byproducts into growing pig diets as alternative feed ingredients alongside corn.