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Effects of dietary ß-mannanase on the growth performance of growing pigs
The effects of dietary inclusion of β-mannanase (Hemicell HT 1.5X®) on the growth performance of growing pigs was evaluated in a study using a RCBD with 3 dietary treatments fed in three phases as follows: 1) Negative Control [NC; 3,307, 3,217, and 3,219 dietary ME (kcal/kg), for phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively]; 2) Positive Control (PC; As NC + supplemental fat to increase the ME of the diet by approximately 100 kcal/kg), and 3) Hemicell (HEM; As NC + Hemicell HT 1.5X® at 0.025%, or 0.08 MU/kg). Experimental diets were corn-soybean meal based with corn co-products, and were fed in meal form. Diets were formulated to contain the same level of standardized ileal digestible lysine across dietary phases and to meet or exceed NRC (2012) nutrient requirements. Pigs had ad libitum access to feed and water throughout the study, which was carried out from weaning (initial BW 5.91 ± 0.38 kg) to week 8 post-weaning (BW 33.98 ± 2.35 kg) using 1,383 pigs housed in groups of 21 or 22, with 21 replicates per treatment for a total of 63 pens. Growth performance for the PC and HEM treatments were similar (P > 0.05) for all traits evaluated. Compared to pigs fed the NC diet, pigs fed the HEM diet were 5.5% heavier (P < 0.001) at the end of test (32.8, 34.5, and 34.6 kg, respectively, for NC, PC and HEM; SEM = 0.49) and had 7.1% greater (P < 0.001) overall ADG (476, 507, and 510 g for NC, PC and HEM, respectively; SEM = 5.9). In addition, pigs fed the HEM diet consumed 4.9% more (P = 0.003) feed (793, 817, and 832 g for NC, PC, and HEM, respectively; SEM = 14.0) and had 2.8% greater (P< 0.001) G:F (0.602, 0.622, and 0.619 for NC, PC, and HEM, respectively; SEM = 0.0052). The results of this study suggest that nursery pigs fed Hemicell HT 1.5X® have a greater growth rate, feed intake, and feed efficiency compared to pigs fed a diet without it, which is explained by the enzyme’s energy sparing effect.
Keywords: Enzyme, Pigs, Growth