Effects of Anion Supplementation on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Meat Quality and Fecal Noxious Gas Content in Growing-finishing Pigs

Forty-eight ((DurocxYorkshire)xLandrace) pigs with an average initial body weight (BW) of 48.47 +/- 1.13 kg were used in a 12-week growth trial to investigate the influence of Anion (silicate) supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, meat quality and fecal noxious gas content in growing-finishing pigs. Pigs were allotted into three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design according to sex and initial BW. Each dietary treatment consisted of four replications with four pigs per pen. Dietary treatments included: i) CON (basal diet), ii) HCI (basal diet+3 g/kg Anion), iii) HCII (basal diet+6 g/kg Anion). No significant difference (p>0.05) was detected for average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and gain/feed ratio (G/F) throughout the experiment, although dietary supplementation of Anion numerically increased these characteristics compared with CON. The dietary HCI group significantly (p<0.05) increased the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N) and energy compared with the CON group (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed in meat quality except that meat firmness was linearly (p<0.05) increased by the Anion supplementation, while an increased tendency in meat color and a decreased tendency in 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was also observed (p<0.10). Anion supplementation linearly (p<0.05) decreased the fecal NH3 compared with the CON group. However, dietary Anion supplementation at 3 g/kg decreased the H2S concentration compared with CON, while no significant difference was detected in the HCII group, although the H2S emission was numerically decreased compared with CON. In conclusion, supplementation of the diet with 3 g/kg Anion was found to exert a beneficial effect on nutrient digestibility and meat quality of growing-finishing pigs, and concomitantly decreased the noxious gas emission without negative effect on growth performance.