The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diets containing rice distillers’ by‐product (RDP) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and gut microbiota of fattening pigs. Twenty‐four crossbred finishing pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), 56.9 ± 3.1 kg initial body weight, were randomly allocated to three groups. For 56 days, pigs were fed one of three diets including RDP0 (control), RDP15 (15% RDP in DM), and RDP30 (30% RDP in DM). With RDP level in diet, average daily gain and backfat thickness linearly increased (p < 0.05), and drip loss tended to increase (p ≤ 0.08). In addition, 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon profiling showed that RDP was associated with modulation of colonic microbiota composition, especially at family and genus levels. Relative abundance of Porphyromonadaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae families in colonic digesta increased with inclusion of RDP, while that of Enterobacteriaceae decreased. The proportion of genera unclassified Erysipelotrichaceae, and Butyrivibrio increased as inclusion of RDP. These results indicate that up to 30% inclusion in diet of finishing pigs, RDP can modulate colonic microbiota composition, and induces an improvement of animal growth and fat deposition.

Background and Aim: Alternative natural materials to antibiotics for improving digestive health and growth performance are needed due to strengthening regulations related to the use of antibiotic growth promoters. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of medicinal plants mixture (60% Bidens pilosa L., 15% Urena lobata L., 15% Pseuderanthemum palatiferum, 5% Ramulus cinnamomi, and 5% Star anise) as alternative growth promotors on animal health, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, and growth performance of growing pigs. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted, from April 2020 to June 2020, at a private pig production farm located in Cam Giang district Hai Duong Province, Vietnam. Forty-eight 10-week-old crossbred (♂Duroc×♀ [Landrace×Yorkshire]) pigs, average initial body weight 30.3±1.42 kg, were randomly allocated to four dietary groups, three replicate pens per experimental group, with 4 pigs/pen. For 7 weeks, the pigs were fed a basal diet supplemented with the mixture at levels of 0, 20, 40, and 60 g/kg of feed. Results: Final body weight, average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio, as well as apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, and gross energy were not significantly influenced by the diets (p>0.05). Inclusion of the plant mixture decreased significantly red blood cell count, blood cholesterol, urea nitrogen, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) concentrations (p<0.05) compared with the control diet. No diet effect was observed on fecal Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Clostridium spp., and total bacteria counts. Conclusion: The incorporation of the plant mixture into the diet of growing pigs reduced serum cholesterol, LDL, and urea concentrations with no adverse effect on performance and nutrient digestibility.

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Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets containing different wet rice distillers’ by-product (RDP) levels on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles and gut microbiome of weaned piglets.Methods: A total of 48 weaned castrated male crossbred pigs, initial body weight 7.54±0.97 kg, and age about 4 wks, were used in this experiment. The piglets were randomly allocated into three iso-nitrogenous diet groups that were fed either a control diet, a diet with 15% RDP, or a diet with 30% RDP for a total of 35 days. Chromium oxide was used for apparent digestibility measurements. On d 14 and d 35, half of the piglets were randomly selected for hemato-biochemical and gut microbiota evaluations.Results: Increasing inclusion levels of RDP tended to linearly increase (p≤0.07) average daily gain on d 14 and d 35, and decreased (p = 0.08) feed conversion ratio on d 35. Empty stomach weight increased (p = 0.03) on d 35 while digestibility of diet components decreased. Serum globulin concentration decreased on d 14 (p = 0.003) and red blood cell count tended to decrease (p = 0.06) on d 35, parallel to increase RDP levels. Gene amplicon profiling of 16S rRNA revealed that the colonic microbiota composition of weaned pigs changed by inclusion of RDP over the period. On d 14, decreased proportions of Lachnospiraceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, and Bacteroidales_ge, and increased proportions of Prevotellaceae_ge, Prevotella_2, and Prevotella_9 were found with inclusion of RDP, whereas opposite effect was found on d 35. Additionally, the proportion of Lachnospiraceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_ge, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005, and Bacteroidales_ge in RDP diets decreased over periods in control diet but increased largely in diet with 30% RDP.Conclusion: These results indicate that RDP in a favorable way modulate gastrointestinal microbiota composition and improve piglet performance despite a negative impact on digestibility of lipids and gross energy.

Background and Aim: Dietary fiber has distinctive effects on the environment and microbiota of the pig's intestinal tract. This study was conducted at the naturally ventilated facility of the experimental station, National Institute of Animal Sciences, Vietnam, to examine the effects of fiber sources in diets on the intestinal microbiota of two different pig breeds raised in Vietnam. Materials and Methods: A total of 18 native and 18 exotic pigs with average initial body weights of 9.5±0.4 and 16.5±0.4 kg, respectively, were each divided into three dietary treatments, including a low-fiber diet containing approximately 200 g NDF per kg dry matter (DM) and two high-fiber diets containing cassava by-products or brewer's grains containing approximately 300 g NDF per kg DM. At the end of the experiment (28 days), the bacterial diversity of digesta samples collected from the stomach, ileum, and colon segments was analyzed through DGGE analysis of the V3 variable regions of 16S-rDNA and by cloning and sequencing. Results: Among the diets, significant differences were observed in the number of DNA bands in the stomach between the native and exotic pigs (p<0.05), but not in the ileum and colon. The dietary fiber affected the number of DNA bands in the ileum (p<0.05), but not in the stomach and colon. A significant interaction effect was found between diet and breed on the number of DNA bands in the ileum (p<0.05). Dietary fiber and breed had a greater effect on microbiota in the ileum and colon than that in the stomach. Conclusion: The fiber sources affected the number of DNA bands in the ileum, and breed affected the number of DNA bands in the stomach. The microbial compositions in the ileum and colon segments were significantly affected by the dietary fiber and breed.

The objective of this study was to investigate by-product production originating from artisan distillers of rice alcohol and its use as pig feed in three provinces (Hai Duong, Hung Yen and Bac Giang) of Northern Vietnam. A total of 120 rice alcohol producers classified by production scales (30 producers for Large-L, 45 producers for Medium-M and 45 producers for Small-S) were interviewed from January to August 2015. Additionally, sixty-three rice distiller's by-product samples were collected from the study areas to determine their daily nutrient content according to one week storage time. The annual dry matter feedstuff production was estimated to 4.8, 3.0 and 2.1 tons per household for L, M and S scales, respectively (p<0.001). Swine herd size increased with the scale of household alcohol production (p<0.05). The proportion of rice distiller's by-product in diet of swine lowered when turning from pregnant to lactating sows, and varied in fattening pigs. Rice distiller's by-product was rich in high quality crude protein, copper and lactic acid but poor in dry matter. Its nutritive value remained stable over a week under ambient conditions. In conclusion, rice distiller's by-product provides significant and stable amounts of nutrients in northern vietnamese pig production.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotics (PROB), organic acids (ORAC), and their mix (PROR) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and fecal noxious gas concentration in grower-finisher pigs. Twenty-four barrows [(Pietrain × Duroc) × (Landrace × Yorkshire)], with an average initial body weight of 26 ± 0.77 kg (around 75 days old), were equally divided into four dietary groups, 6 replicates each group. The animals were housed individually in metabolism cages. The four experimental diets consisted of a basal diet (CONT), PROB diet (CONT + 0.2% PROB), ORAC diet (CONT + 0.2% ORAC), and PROR diet (CONT + 0.2% PROB + 0.2% ORAC) for 60 days including 2 periods (25-45 kg and 45-65 kg). In comparison to the CONT group, dietary supplementation of PROB or ORAC or PROR increased ADG and decreased FCR (P < 0.0001), with the higher ADG and lower FCR for PROR group during the entire experimental period. Pigs fed PROB or ORAC or PROR diets led to higher (P < 0.05) apparent total tract digestibility of protein, organic matter, neutral detergent fiber, and phosphorus than those fed CONT diet. A significant decrease in ammonia (NH 3 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) concentrations were observed in diets with PROB or ORAC or PROR, with lower values for PROR diet. In conclusion, in grower-finisher pigs, dietary supplementation of either PROB or ORAC as a single product or their combination had improvements in performance parameters, nutrient digestibility, and fecal NH 3 and H 2 S emissions compared with CONT diet. There were no differences in performance parameters between the use of the single product and the combination. In general, a diet containing a combination of PROB and ORAC had larger effects on parameters observed than a diet containing either PROB or ORAC.