Gonzalez-Ortiz

Xylanase and a stimbiotic increased growth performance and total tract digestibility of nutrients in diets for weanling pigs, but feeding sows xylanase in lactation did not influence pig growth performance

Arabinoxylans are the predominant fiber component in cereal grains and cereal co-products. They have a backbone of β-(1− 4) linked xylose units with side chains of arabinose, glucuronic acid, acetyl, and phenolic acids. Xylanase hydrolyzes the β-(1− 4) glycosidic bonds between xylose units in the backbone and releases a mixture of xylose and xylo-oligosaccharides that can be either absorbed or fermented by pigs. Previous data indicate that xylanase increased the degradation of dietary fiber and increased energy digestibility in diets for growing pigs and lactating sows. Xylo-oligosaccharides improve growth performance of nursery pigs because they serve as prebiotics that modulate gut microbiota. A stimbiotic (i.e., xylanase in combination with xylo-oligosaccharides) may improve growth performance of weanling pigs to a greater extent than either additive alone by shifting the intestinal microbiome to favor fiber fermentation. However, there are no data on possible effects of xylanase in sows diets on growth performance and intestinal health of the offspring or on the impact of the stimbiotic on digestibility of nutrients when fed to nursery pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that xylanase or a stimbiotic improves growth performance and the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), gross energy (GE), and total dietary fiber (TDF), and the concentration of digestible energy (DE) of diets for weanling pigs, but that the effect is greater in offspring of sows fed xylanase in lactation than in offspring of sows not fed xylanase.

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Exogenous xylanase increases digestibility of energy and fiber in diets for gestating and lactating sows

Exogenous enzymes may improve the fermentability of dietary fiber in swine diets by hydrolyzing non-starch polysaccharides into oligosaccharides and sugars. In particular, the enzyme xylanase hydrolyzes the β-(1-4) glycosidic bonds between the xylose units in the backbone of arabinoxylans in cereal grains and grain coproducts, resulting in the release of a combination of xylose, arabinose, and xylo-oligosaccharides from arabinoxylans that can be fermented by pigs. Previous data indicate that xylanase increased the degradation of dietary fiber and increased energy digestibility in diets for growing pigs; however, there are limited data for the impact of xylanase on energy and fiber digestibility in gestating and lactating sows. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that exogenous xylanase added to diets for gestating and lactating sows will increase the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy and total dietary fiber (TDF), and increase the concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) during two reproductive cycles.

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