Effect of purified docosahexaenoic acid supplementation
on production performance, meat quality,
and intestinal microbiome of finishing pigs

This study examined the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) purified from fish oil on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, faecal microbial count, faecal score, and meat quality of finishing pigs. A total of 160 crossbred finishing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average body weight of 70.51 ± 2.23 kg were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 diets [5 pigs per pen (2 barrows and 3 gilts); 8 pens per treatment]. Dietary treatments were: CON – basal diet, TRT1 – CON + 0.10% DHA, TRT2 – CON + 0.25% DHA, TRT3 – CON + 0.50% DHA. DHA supplementation resulted in a linear increase (P = 0.046) in final body weight of finishing pigs. DHA supplementation increased average daily gain (ADG) in the TRT3 group compared to the CON group at week 6. In addition, the gain to feed ratio (G:F) was increased in the TRT3 group compared to the CON group. Increasing dietary DHA levels linearly improved ADG (P = 0.046) and G:F (P = 0.021). DHA supplementation did not influence nutrient digestibility. The pH, water holding capacity, cooking loss, and meat colour were not affected by the supplementation with graded DHA levels. On day 7, drip loss was reduced in the TRT2 and TRT3 groups compared to CON. However, faecal microbial and faecal score measurements remained unaffected among the treatments. In short, powdered DHA supplementation improved growth performance in finishing pigs without affecting nutrient digestibility, intestinal microorganisms and faecal score.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:

Chinese

二十二碳六烯酸 (DHA) 对肥育猪生产性能、肉质和肠道微生物群的影响

摘要: 本试验研究了从鱼油中提纯的二十二碳六烯酸 (Docosahexaenoic acid DHA) 对肥育猪生长性能、养分消化率、粪便微生物数、粪便评分和肉质的影响。试验选用160头平均体重 (BW) 为70.51 ± 2.23 kg的杂交育肥猪 [(约克夏×长白)×杜洛克]，随机分为4组[每组5头猪 (2头阉猪，3头母猪) 每次治疗8组]。日粮处理为：基础日粮 (CON)、TRT1 – CON+0.10% DHA、TRT2 – CON+0.25% DHA、TRT3 – CON+0.50% DHA。日粮中添加DHA后，肥育猪的终末体重呈线性增长 (P = 0.046)。6周龄时，TRT3组的平均日增重 (ADG) 著高于CON组。此外，TRT3 组的增重与料重比 (Gain to feed ratio) G/F) 也高于CON组。提高日粮DHA水平可使日增重 (P = 0.046) 和料重比 (P = 0.021) 呈线性提高。添加DHA不影响日粮养分消化率。不同水平的DHA添加对pH、持水能力、蒸煮损失和肉色没有影响。与CON相比，育肥第7天， TRT2和TRT3组的水分损失减少。然而，粪便微生物和粪便评分仍然不受影响。总之，添加粉末状DHA改善了肥育猪的生长性能，而不影响养分消化率、肠道微生物和粪便评分。

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