Influence of Enterococcus Faecium and Endo-1,4-Xylanase Supplementation to Corn and Soybean Meal Based Diet on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Meat Quality, Fecal Microflora and Fecal Gas Emission in Finishing Pigs

A total of 128 finishing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average body weight (BW) of 49.9 ± 2.80 kg were used in a 12-week trial to investigate to determine the effect of dietary supplementation of Enterococcus faecium (EF) and Endo-1,4-xylanase (XY) on pigs. Pigs were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments in a 2×2 factorial design, with 2 levels of EF (0 or 0.1 g/kg of feed) and XY (0 or 0.1 g/kg of feed) according to their sex and BW (8 pens with 2 barrows and 2 gilts/pen). Individual pig BW and pen feed consumption were recorded at the end of 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th week to calculate the average daily gain (ADG), average feed intake (ADFI), and gain to feed ratio (G:F). Fresh fecal samples were collected at 6^th week and 12^th week for calculation of DM, N, and energy digestibility by adding 0.2% chromium oxide before one week. Fecal sample (1 g) from each pen was diluted with 9 mL of 10 g/L peptone broth to evaluate fecal microbiota. All data were subjected to the mixed procedure of SAS for a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. During 0 – 12 wk, pigs fed diets supplemented with EF increased average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G:F) compared with treatments without EF supplementation (P < 0.05). The inclusion of XY led to greater G:F compared to those fed diets without XY supplementation (P < 0.05). At the 6^th week, the results showed that the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N) and energy increased with pigs fed EF supplemented diet compared to diet without EF supplemented diet (P < 0.05). Administration of XY improved DM digestibility compared with treatments without XY supplementation (P < 0.05) at the 6^th week. Pigs fed diets supplemented with EF or XY had higher (P < 0.05) Lactobacillus population than those fed with treatments without EF or XY supplementation at the 6^th week, In addition, at the 6^th and 12^th weeks, the E. coli counts were decreased (P < 0.05) in pigs fed with EF and XY supplementation. In conclusion, these results suggest that providing finishing pigs with diets that contained EF and XY can improve growth performance, nutrient digestibility, Lactobacillus population and decreased E. coli counts in finishing pigs.