Effect of dietary β-glucan supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and characteristics of feces in weaned pigs

A total of 150 crossbred weaned pigs [(YorkshirexLandrace)xDuroc] with an average body weight of 6.75 +/- 0.49kg were used in a 6-wk trial to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of -glucan on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and characteristics of feces (fecal score, microbiota, moisture, and pH) in weaned pigs. The corn-soybean meal based dietary treatments included: 1) antibiotic (30ppm Tiamulin), 2) 0% -glucan, 3) 0.1% -glucan, 4) 0.2% -glucan, and 5) 0.4% -glucan. Dietary supplementation with -glucan resulted in no significant differences in growth performance, nutrient digestibility, or characteristics of feces compared with that of Tiamulin supplementation. Pigs fed -glucan exhibited a linearly increasing average daily gain and feed/gain ratio. Dietary supplementation of -glucan linearly increased apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter and energy during 1-14 and 1-42d as dietary -glucan increased from 0.1 to 0.4%. In addition, pigs fed -glucan had linearly decreasing coliform bacterial counts. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with -glucan from rice bran improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility and coliform bacteria in weaned pigs, and -glucan had the same effect as Tiamulin supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and characteristics of feces. Thus, we suggest that -glucan from rice bran can be used as an alternative to antibiotics, and will improve productivity of weaned pigs.