ORIGINAL PAPER
 
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ABSTRACT
The present study evaluated the effects of Quillaja saponin (QS) supplementation on growth efficiency, nutritional digestibility, gas emissions, and faecal score in growing pigs. In a 42-day experiment, 80 growing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] were randomly assigned (29.17 ± 0.23 kg initial average body weight) to 2 different trial groups. Each group had 8 replicates, consisting of 3 male and 2 female pigs in each pen. The nutritional treatments included a control group (CON) receiving a basal diet and a treatment group (TRT1) receiving a basal diet supplemented with 0.01% QS. The results of this study indicated that pigs consuming the QS-supplemented diet exhibited significantly higher (P < 0.05) body weight on day 42 compared to the CON group. Furthermore, dietary QS led to higher (P < 0.05) average daily gain and showed a tendency to reduce (P < 0.10) the feed conversion ratio throughout the study period, as compared to the CON diet. Growing pigs that consumed the QS-supplemented diet also showed higher (P < 0.05) nutrient utilisation of dry matter and nitrogen compared to the CON group. At day 42, QS supplementation reduced (P < 0.05) NH3 and H2S emissions, along with a trend to reduce (P < 0.10) CH4 generation in the initial stage in comparison to the CON diet. Furthermore, the faecal score in the experimental group was lower (P < 0.05) on day 42 compared to control animals. In conclusion, QS proved to be a suitable supplement for growing pigs as it improved growth efficiency and nutrient digestibility, as well as reduced gas emissions and faecal score.
FUNDING
This research was financially supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-RS-2023-00275307).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
 
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CITATIONS (1):
1.
Assessing the potential of phytogenic feed additives: A comprehensive review on their effectiveness as a potent dietary enhancement for nonruminant in swine and poultry
Sarbani Biswas, Je M. Ahn, In Ho Kim
Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition
 
ISSN:1230-1388
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