ORIGINAL PAPER
The effects of micelle silymarin on growth performance, nutrient
utilisation, and blood profiles of weaning piglets
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Dankook University, Department of Animal Resource and Science, 31116 Cheonan, South Korea
Publication date: 2023-09-30
Corresponding author
I. H. Kim
Dankook University, Department of Animal Resource and Science, 31116 Cheonan, South Korea
J. Anim. Feed Sci. 2024;33(1):56-63
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Our previous study showed that micelle silymarin (MS) improved
the antioxidant capacity of lactating sows and average daily gain of fattening
pigs; however, its effect on weaned piglets has not yet been elucidated. The
present work aimed to explore the influence of varying doses of MS on growth
performance, blood profiles, nutrient digestibility, and antioxidant capacity of
weaned piglets. One hundred and twenty weaned piglets (60 males and 60
females) at the age of 21 days (average body weight = 6.50 kg) were randomly
divided into 3 dietary groups. Each treatment consisted of 8 replicate pens
(5 pigs/pen). The following feeds were applied: a basal diet (without MS) and
a basal diet with the addition of 0.05% MS or 0.1% MS. The feeding trial lasted
42 days. The results demonstrated that dietary MS linearly increased average
daily gain over the entire period (P = 0.011). Average daily feed gain tended
to be higher with increasing MS doses in the diet (P = 0.058). Faecal score
and nutrient utilisation in terms of dry matter, nitrogen, and gross energy were
not affected by MS doses (P > 0.05). On day 42, serum immunoglobulin M
levels were elevated after the inclusion of both 0.05% and 0.1% MS in the diet
(P = 0.016). Additionally, malondialdehyde levels showed a linear reduction on
days 14 and 21 (P = 0.005), while glutathione levels were increased on day 21
(P = 0.005). In summary, supplementing the diet of weaning piglets with MS had
no adverse effects on their health. Furthermore, including 0.1% MS in the diet of
weaned piglets tended to improve growth performance and antioxidant capacity.
FUNDING
This work was supported by a grant of the
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
funded by the Government of Korea (MSIT) (No.
NRF-2022R1I1A3063332) and supported by the
Basic Science Research Program through the
National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
funded by the Ministry of Education (NRFRS-
2023-00275307).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Authors declare that there is no conflict of
interest.
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CITATIONS (1):
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