Performance and energy metabolism in restrictively fed weanling pigs are not affected by feeding either fermented cereals or their end-products

Abstract

To study the effects of feeding fermented cereals or just fermentation end-products on performance and energy metabolism, 18 restrictedly fed groups of eight pigs each were assigned to one of three dietary treatments: (i) a liquid control diet (C) containing 40% of a mixture of barley and wheat; or (ii) a liquid diet (F) containing 40% fermented barley and wheat; or (iii) a liquid diet as C with the addition of some important fermentation end-products (FP; organic acids and ethanol) in concentrations similar to those in the fermented F-diet. Energy and nitrogen balances, heat production, and performance traits were measured during two consecutive periods (days 1-5 and days 6-14). There was a considerable increase in average dry matter intake that tended (p = 0.06) to be higher in the FP-group than in the other groups. Apparent fecal digestibility of dry matter, ash, nitrogen and energy during period 2 were not affected (p > 0.1). Averaged over both periods, none of the energy metabolism parameters were affected by the diets (p > 0.1). However, there were diet × period interactions for metabolizable energy-intake (p = 0.07), energy retention (p < 0.05), the respiratory quotient (RQ; p < 0.01) and activity-related heat production (H(ACT,) p = 0.05). Additionally, there were some differences between the diets in the average hourly patterns in RQ and H(ACT). In conclusion, restricted feeding of either 40% fermented cereals nor their fermentation end-products affected performance and energy metabolism traits in weanling pigs. Nevertheless, lower postprandial activity-related heat production by pigs given the fermented cereals suggest a stimulating effect of fermented cereals on short term satiety that was not seen in pigs given fermentation end-products only.