Effects of an Algae-Modified Montmorillonite Clay and Deoxynivalenol on Nursery Pig Performance

Abstract Text:

A total of 280 barrows and gilts (PIC 327×1050; initially 9.9 ± 1.5 kg) were used in a 28-d growth study to evaluate the effects of an algae-modified montmorillonite clay (AMMC; Olmix S.A., Brehan, France) on the growth performance of nursery pigs fed diets contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON).  Pigs were allotted to 1 of 5 treatments by initial weight, gender, and weaning age in a completely randomized design in a 2 × 2 + 1 factorial arrangement. There were 8 replicate pens per treatment and 7 pigs per pen. Naturally DON-contaminated wheat (10.7 mg/kg) replaced non-contaminated wheat to incorporate DON into test diets. Basal ingredients were tested for mycotoxin and amino acid content prior to diet manufacturing. The 5 experimental diets, fed in pellet form, included a control (<0.5 ppm DON) without or with 0.50% AMMC and a DON contaminated diet (5 ppm DON) without or with 0.25 or 0.50% AMMC. Following diet manufacturing, analyzed DON averaged <0.5 mg/kg for control diets and 6.6 mg/kg for DON contaminated diets. Data were analyzed using mixed model. There were no interactions between DON and AMMC (P > 0.10). Overall (d 0 to 28), pigs fed diets containing DON had reduced (P < 0.01) ADG (411 vs. 524 g), ADFI (689 vs. 783 g) and G:F (0.600 vs. 0.671) and increased (P < 0.05) variation in final BW (15.9 vs. 12.8%) compared with pigs fed diets without DON. The addition of AMMC had no effect (P > 0.10) on growth performance.  In conclusion, dietary DON reduced pig performance as expected; however, adding AMMC (0.25 or 0.50%) did not mitigate the negative effect.

 

	Control		DON Contaminated				Probability, P <1
Item                                  AMMC:	---	0.50%	---	0.25%	0.50%	SEM	DON
Analyzed DON, mg/kg	<0.5	<0.5	6.6	6.7	6.4
d 0 to 28
ADG, g	533	516	420	403	421	14.2	0.001
ADFI, g	782	784	686	693	726	23.2	0.003
G:F	0.683	0.658	0.614	0.585	0.583	0.021	0.002
CV, d 28 BW	0.136	0.121	0.166	0.152	0.147	0.015	0.05

 

¹ No effects observed for AMMC (P > 0.20).

Keywords: deoxynivalenol. mycotoxin, nursery pig