The study investigated the impact of dietary fibers on the performance, fecal short-chain fatty acids, nutrient digestibility, and bacterial community in weaned piglets with the control group (CON) and dietary supplementation of 5% corn bran (CB), 5% wheat bran (WB), or 5% soybean hulls (SB). The piglets in CB and WB groups showed greater weight gain and feed efficiency ( p < 0.05) in comparison to piglets in CON and SB groups. Fecal samples from piglets in CB, SB, and WB groups contained greater ( p < 0.05) butyrate levels than fecal samples from piglets in the CON group. The fecal samples from piglets in CB or WB groups contained greater ( p < 0.05) abundances of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes or Fibrobacteres than the fecal sample from piglets in the CON group, which could promote fiber degradation and the production of butyrate. In summary, dietary CB or WB may enhance the growth performance of weaned piglets via altering gut microbiota and improving butyrate production, which shed light on the mechanism of dietary fiber in improving gut health.

BackgroundTwo experiments were conducted to estimate the net energy (NE) of corn, soybean meal, expeller-pressed rapeseed meal (EP-RSM) and solvent-extracted rapeseed meal (SE-RSM) using indirect calorimetry and to validate the NE of these four ingredients using pig growth performance.MethodsIn Exp.1, 24 barrows (initial BW = 36.4 ± 1.6 kg) were allotted to 1 of 4 diets which included a corn basal diet, a corn-soybean meal basal diet and two rapeseed meal diets containing 20% EP-RSM (9.5% ether extract) or SE-RSM (1.1% ether extract) substituted for corn and soybean meal. The design allowed the calculation of NE values of corn, soybean meal and rapeseed meals according to the difference method. In Exp.2, 175 growing pigs (initial BW = 36.0 ± 5.2 kg) were fed 1 of 5 diets for 28 d, with five pigs per pen and seven replications (pens) per treatment in order to validate the measured energy values. Diets were a corn-soybean meal diet and four diets including 10% or 20% EP-RSM and 10% or 20% SE-RSM.ResultsThe NE of corn, soybean meal, EP-RSM and SE-RSM were 12.46, 11.34, 11.71 and 8.83 MJ/kg DM, respectively. The NE to ME ratio of corn (78%) was similar to tabular values, however, the NE to ME ratios of soybean meal (70%) and rapeseed meal (76%) were greater than tabular values. The greater NE value in EP-RSM than in SE-RSM is consistent with its higher EE content. Increasing EP-RSM or SE-RSM did not affect the growth performance of pigs and the caloric efficiency of NE was comparable for all diets.ConclusionsThe NE of EP-RSM was similar to soybean meal, and both were greater than SE-RSM. The DE, ME and NE values measured in Exp.1 are confirmed by results of Exp. 2 with comparable caloric efficiencies of DE, ME or NE for all diets.

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ObjectiveThis experiment was to evaluate the effect of different inclusion levels and adaptation periods on digestible energy (DE) and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of chemical constituents in diets supplemented with wheat bran.MethodsThirty-six crossbred barrows with an initial body weight of 85.0±2.1 kg were allotted to 6 diets in a completely randomized block design with 6 pigs per diet. Diets included a corn-soybean basal diet and 5 additional diets which were formulated by replacing corn and soybean meal in control diet with 15%, 25%, 35%, 45%, or 55% wheat bran. The experiment lasted for 34 d, and feces were collected from d 8 to 13, 15 to 20, 22 to 27, and 29 to 34 respectively.ResultsThe results showed no interaction effects between inclusion level and adaptation period on the concentration of DE and the ATTD of gross energy (GE) and crude protein (CP) in wheat bran. The DE value and ATTD of GE in wheat bran decreased (p<0.05) significantly as the inclusion level of wheat bran increased, but no difference in the ATTD of CP was observed. The ATTD of CP in wheat bran increased (p<0.10) significantly as the adaptation period for pigs was prolonged. In addition, the concentration of DE and the ATTD of GE in wheat bran decreased linearly (p<0.05) when pigs were fed either an increased level of wheat bran or given an increased adaptation period to the diets.ConclusionWheat bran showed a negative effect on the concentration of DE and ATTD of GE and CP as the inclusion level increased. A longer adaptation period can gradually increase the DE value and ATTD of GE and CP in wheat bran, and at least 14 to 21 d of adaptation might be recommended for growing-finishing pigs fed the high-fiber diets with wheat bran.