• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.279-285
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• 2014

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary Zizyphus jujuba seed meal on broiler performance, small intestine and cecal length, gizzard weight and fecal gas emission. A total of 180 day-old broiler chicks (Ross) were randomly divided into 4 groups, fed the commercial diet containing 0, 0.3 (T1), 0.6 (T2) and 0.9 % (T3) of Zizyphus jujuba seed meal from two to 5 weeks of age. Body weight gain and feed efficiency (feed/gain) were significantly increase in T2 than other groups at 3 weeks age (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in body weight gain and feed efficiency (feed/gain) by feeding Zizyphus jujuba seed meal, although they tended to be improved by treatment during whole experimental period (5 weeks age). The gizzard weights of three treatment groups were higher than control. But no difference among three treatment groups was observed. The small intestine and cecal length was no change by feeding Zizyphus jujuba seed meal. Emission of $NH_3$ and VFA gas from excreta were significantly decreased from 5 to 10 days of storage period (P<0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study showed that the addition of Zizyphus jujuba seed meal at 0.3 to 0.6 % to the diet has increased digestibility of feed and the reduction of $NH_3$ emissions from feces, there was a possibility of improvement in body weight gain of broiler chickens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.287-298
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• 2022

This study evaluated the efficacy of chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) as an oxidant to reduce malodor emission from chicken feces. Two experiments were performed with the following four treatments in parallel: 1) fresh chicken feces with only distilled water added as a control, 2) a commercial germicide as a positive control, and 3) 2,000 or 4) 3,000 ppm of ClO₂ supplementation. Aluminum gas bags containing chicken feces sealed with a silicone plug were used in both experiments, and each treatment was tested in triplicate. In Experiment 1, 10 mL of each additive was added on the first day of incubation, and malodor emissions were then assessed after 10 days of incubation. In Experiment 2, 1 mL of each additive was added daily during a 14-day incubation period. At the end of the incubation, gas production, malodor-causing substances (H₂S and NH₃ gases), dry matter, pH, volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and microbial enumeration were analyzed. Supplementing ClO₂ at 2,000 and 3,000 ppm significantly reduced the pH and the ammonia-N, total VFA, H₂S, and ammonia gas concentrations in chicken feces compared with the control feces (P<0.05). Additionally, microbial analysis indicated that the number of coliform bacteria was decrease after ClO₂ treatment (P<0.05). In conclusion, ClO₂ at 2,000 and 3,000 ppm was effective at reducing malodor emission from chicken feces. However, further studies are warranted to examine the effects of ClO₂ at various concentrations and the effects on malodor emission from a poultry farm.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1592-1605
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of this study was to select an effective in vitro digestion-fermentation model to estimate the effect of decreasing dietary crude protein (CP) on odor emission during pig production and to suggest potential prediction markers through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Methods: In the in vitro experiment, three diet formulations with different CP contents (170 g/kg, 150 g/kg, and 130 g/kg) but containing the same standardized ileal digestible essential amino acids (SID-EAA) were assessed. Each diet was evaluated by two different in vitro gastric-intestinal phase digestion methods (flask and dialysis), combined with fresh pig feces-ferment inoculation. Eighteen growing barrows (31.9±1.6 kg) were divided into three groups: control diet (180 g CP/kg, without SID-EAA adjustment), 170 g CP/kg diet, and 150 g CP/kg diet for 4 weeks. Results: The in vitro digestion results indicated that in vitro digestibility was affected by the gastric-intestinal phase digestion method and dietary CP level. According to the gas kinetic and digestibility results, the dialysis method showed greater distinguishability for dietary CP level adjustment. Nitrogen-related odor compounds (NH₃-N, indole, p-cresol, and skatole) were highly correlated with urease and protease activity. The feeding study indicated that both EAA-adjusted diets resulted in a lower odor emission especially in p-cresol and skatole. Both protease and urease activity in feces were also closely related to odor emissions from nitrogen metabolism compounds. Conclusion: Dialysis digestion in the gastric-intestinal phase followed by fresh fecal inoculation fermentation is suitable for in vitro diet evaluation. The enzyme activity in the fermentation and the fecal samples might provide a simple and effective estimation tool for nitrogen-related odor emission prediction in both in vitro and in vivo experiments.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.326-339
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• 2024

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of protease supplementation and different nutrient density of diets in growing-finishing pigs. A total of one hundred-eight crossbred growing pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) with an initial body weight (BW; 18.74 ± 3.46 kg) were used for 15 weeks. Pigs were randomly assigned to six dietary treatments with 6 replicates of 3 pigs per pen in a 3 × 2 factorial through the following arrangement: Three groups of protease (1, Basal diets; 2, Protease A: 125 mg/kg protease derived from Streptomyces sps; 3, Protease B: 100 mg/kg protease derived from Bacillus licheniformis) at two different nutrient density diets (1, Basal requirement; 2, 0.94%-0.98% higher than requirement in dietary protein and 50 kcal/kg in energy). High nutrient (HN) diets showed higher average daily gain (ADG) (p < 0.05) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of crude protein (CP) (p < .0001) compared to basal nutrient (BN) diets during growing periods. Supplementation of protease showed higher BW (p < 0.05) and ADG (p < 0.05) compared to non-supplementation of protease during growing periods. Also, supplementation of protease showed higher ATTD of CP (p < 0.01), ATTD of gross energy (p < 0.05) and decreased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level (p = 0.001) compared to non-supplementation of protease during finishing periods. Pigs which fed the protease showed decreased ammonia (NH₃) emissions (p < 0.05) during experiment periods and decreased hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) emissions (p < 0.01) during finishing periods. Interactions between nutrient density and protease were observed, which decreased the feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05) in HN diets without protease compared to BN diets without protease during weeks 4 to 6. Also, interaction between nutrient density and protease was observed, which resulted in improved ATTD of CP (p < 0.01) in response to PTA supplementation with HN diets during the finishing period. In conclusion, supplementation of protease reduces NH₃ in feces and BUN in whole blood by increasing the digestibility of CP and improves growth performance. Also, diets with high nutrient density improved growth performance and nutrient digestibility in growing periods.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.50-59
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• 2017

This study was performed to evaluate the effect of organic medicinal charcoal as a feed additive on aflatoxin absorption, odor emission, fecal microflora and in vitro digestibility in pig diet. A 10-day trial was conducted with 20 [(Yorkshire ${\times}$ Landrace) ${\times}$ Duroc] finishing pigs ($BW=81{\pm}3.3kg$) to investigate the population of Lactobacillus and E. coli in feces and fecal odor ($NH_3$, $H_2S$, total mercaptans, and Acetic acid) in vivo. The in vitro and in vivo treatments included: control (basal diet; CON); (basal diet + 0.25% Organic Medicinal Charcoal; OMC); (basal diet + 0.50% Pyroligneous Charcoal; PC); and (basal diet + 0.50% Coconut tree Charcoal; CC). The aflatoxin absorption capacity was 100, 10, and 20% in OMC, PC, and CC, respectively. The digestibility of dry matter in OMC was significantly higher than that of CON, PC, or CC in vitro (p < 0.05). The digestibility of organic matter in OMC was found to be significantly different from that of CON (p < 0.05). Fecal ammonia and $H_2S$ emissions of OMC were observed to be significantly lower than those of CON, PC, and CC (p < 0.05). Lactobacillus counts in feces of OMC and CC were significantly higher than those of CON and PC (p < 0.05). Fecal E. coli counts of OMC and CC were lower than those of CON and PC (p < 0.05). It was concluded that organic medicinal charcoal can be used as a feed additive in pig diets because it improves the digestibility of feed and fecal odor, and has positive effects on the population of microorganism in feces.