• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.252-261
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• 2006

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of organic or inorganic acid supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts of weanling pigs. In growth trial (Exp I), a total of 100 crossbred pigs ({$Landrace{\times}Yorkshire$}${\times}$Duroc), weaned at $23{\pm}2$ days of age and $7.25{\pm}0.10kg$ average initial body weight (BW), were allotted to 5 treatments by body weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Three different organic acids (fumaric [FUA], formic [FOA] or lactic acid [LAA]) and one inorganic acid (hydrochloric acid [SHA]) were supplemented to each treatment diet. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 4 pigs per pen. During 0-3 wk, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed efficiency (G/F ratio) were not significantly different among treatments. However, pigs fed LAA or SHA diet showed improved ADG by 15 or 13% respectively and 12% greater ADFI in both treatments compared to CON diets. Moreover, compared to organic acid treatments, better ADG (p = 0.07) and ADFI (p = 0.09) were observed in SHA diet compared to pigs that were fed the diet containing organic acids (FUA, FOA or LAA). However, during 4-5 wk, no differences in ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were observed among treatments. Overall, ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were not affected by acidifier supplementation. Although it showed no significant difference, pigs fed LAA or SHA diets showed numerically higher ADG and ADFI than pigs fed other treatments. In metabolic trial (Exp II), 15 pigs were used to evaluate the effect of acidifier supplementation on nutrient digestibility. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) was not improved by acidifier supplementation. Although the amount of fecal-N excretion was not different among treatments, that of urinary-N excretion was reduced in acidsupplemented treatments compared to CON group (p = 0.12). Subsequently, N retention was improved in acid-supplemented groups (p = 0.17). In anatomical trial (Exp III), the pH and $Cl^-$ concentrations of digesta in gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. No detrimental effect of intestinal and lingual (taste bud) morphology was observed by acidifier supplementation particularly in inorganic acid treatment. In white blood cell assay (Exp IV), 45 pigs were used for measuring white blood cell (WBC) counts. In all pigs after LPS injection, WBC counts had slightly declined at 2 h and kept elevating at 8 h, then returned to baseline by 24 h after injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, overall WBC counts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. In conclusion, there was no difference between organic and inorganic acidifier supplementation in weanling pigs' diet, however inorganic acidifier might have a beneficial effect on growth performance and N utilization with lower supplementation levels. Furthermore, inorganic acidifier had no negative effect on intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts in weanling pigs. These results suggested that inorganic acidifier might be a good alternative to organic acidifiers in weanling pigs.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.551-558
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• 2003

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary wormwood powder (Artemisia montana Pampan; WP) supplementation on growing performance and fecal noxious gas emission in weanling pigs. One hundred and twelve pigs were alloted into four treatments and offered for 4 weeks one of the diets supplemented with 0% (control), 0.5% (0.5), 1.0% (1.0) and 2.0% (2.0) WP. Each treatments has four replicate with 7 pigs per replicate. ADG, ADFI and F/G were improved by 1.0 and 2.0 WP supplementation during 0d${\sim}$14d feeding. Feed intake of 1.0 WP diet was higher (P<0.05) than any other diet during 15d${\sim}$28d feeding. But there were no differences among the other treatments in the weight gain and feed conversion. During the whole feeding period, daily weight gain and feed intake of pigs fed 1.0 and 2.0 treatments were higher than those of pigs fed control and 0.5 diet. DM digestibility was significantly (P<0.05) higher in weanling pigs fed 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 WP than that of the control. The protein digestibility was significantly improved in 1.0 WP treatment and the phosphorus digestibility was improved in 2.0 WP treatment. Excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus was significantly (P<0.05) decreased by 2.0 treatment than control. Emission of fecal ammonia after 48 hours storage in vinyl bag dramatically decreased by all the treatments except control. However, there was no statistical difference in fecal hydrogen sulfide emission among treatments. In conclusion, this study suggested that the dietary 1.0${\sim}$2.0 supplementation of WP can improve productivity of pigs decrease fecal $NH_3$ and $H_2S$ gas emission.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1303-1310
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• 2009

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of dietary zinc level on growth performance and immune function in normal (Experiment 1) and immunologically challenged (Experiment 2) weanling pigs. Treatments consisted of the following: i) a corn-soybean meal basal diet containing 36.75 mg/kg total Zn, ii) basal diet+60 mg/kg added Zn as $ZnSO_{4}$, iii) basal diet+120 mg/kg added Zn as $ZnSO_{4}$. Each diet was fed to six pens of four pigs per pen (Exp. 1) or six pens of three pigs per pen (Exp. 2). In Exp. 1, the dietary zinc level had no effect on average daily growth (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), or feed conversion ratio (FCR). Concentrations of tissue and serum zinc were not affected. Peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation (PBLP) was not affected by dietary treatments. Supplementation of 120 mg/kg Zn decreased (p<0.05) the antibody response to bovine serum albumin (BSA) on d 7 compared with pigs fed the basal diet, but not on d 14. In Exp. 2, LPS challenge had no effect on ADG, ADFI and FCR in the entire trial (from d 0 to 21). LPS challenge significantly decreased ADG and ADFI (p<0.01) from d 7 to 14, but FCR was not affected. LPS challenge increased PBLP (p<0.05) and serum concentration of interleukin-1 (IL-1) (p<0.01), whereas the antibody response to BSA and serum concentration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) were not affected. Supplementation of Zn did not affect ADFI and FCR from d 7 to 14, but there was a trend for ADG to be enhanced with Zn supplementation (p<0.10). Supplementation of Zn tended to increase PBLP (p<0.10). Dietary treatment had no effect on the antibody response to BSA or concentrations of serum IL-1 and IL-2. Results indicate that the level of Zn recommended by NRC (1998) for weanling pigs was sufficient for optimal growth performance and immune responses. Zn requirements may be higher for pigs experiencing an acute phase response than for healthy pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.403-409
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• 2018

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of a lipid-coated zinc oxide (ZnO) supplement Shield Zn (SZ) at the sub-pharmacological concentration on intestinal morphology and gene expression in weanling pigs, with an aim to gain insights into the mechanism of actions for SZ. Methods: Forty 22-day-old weanling pigs were fed a nursery diet supplemented with 100 or 2,500 mg Zn/kg with uncoated ZnO (negative control [NC] or positive control [PC], respectively), 100, 200, or 400 mg Zn/kg with SZ for 14 days and their intestinal tissues were taken for histological and molecular biological examinations. The villus height (VH) and crypt depth (CD) of the intestinal mucosa were measured microscopically following preparation of the tissue specimen; expression of the genes associated with growth and immune function was determined using the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: There was no difference in daily gain, gain:feed, and diarrhea score between the SZ group and either of NC and PC. The VH and VH:CD ratio were less for the SZ group vs NC in the jejunum and duodenum, respectively (p<0.05). The jejunal mucosal mRNA levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and interleukin (IL)-10 regressed and tended to regress (p = 0.053) on the SZ concentration with a positive coefficient, respectively, whereas the IL-6 mRNA level regressed on the SZ concentration with a negative coefficient. The mRNA levels of IGF-I, zonula occludens protein-1, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, IL-6, and IL-10 did not differ between the SZ group and either of NC and PC; the occludin and transforming growth $factor-{\beta}1$ mRNA levels were lower for the SZ group than for PC. Conclusion: The present results are interpreted to suggest that dietary ZnO provided by SZ may play a role in intestinal mucosal growth and immune function by modulating the expression of IGF-I, IL-6, and IL-10 genes.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.1003-1008
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• 2012

One hundred and twenty weanling pigs in experiment 1 (Exp. 1) ($6.91{\pm}0.99kg$; 21 d of age) and Exp. 2 ($10.20{\pm}1.09kg$; 28 d of age) were used in two 42-d and 35-d experiments to evaluate the effect of medium-chain-triglyceride (MCT) on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and blood profile. In both of Exp. 1 and Exp. 2, the same dietary treatments were utilized as follows : i) negative control (NC), ii) positive control (PC), NC+antibiotics (40 mg/kg Tiamulin, 110 mg/kg Tylosin, and 10 mg/kg Enramycin, iii) MCT3, NC+0.32% (phase 1, 2 and 3) MCT, and iv) MCT5, NC+0.55% (phase 1), 0.32% (phase 2 and 3) MCT. In Exp. 1, the pigs fed MCT5 diets had higher (p<0.05) ADG compared to NC treatment during the first 2 wk. From d 15 to 28, the ATTD of energy was improved (p<0.05) by MCT3 compared to the PC treatment. No effect has been observed on the blood profiles [red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), immunoglobulin-G (IgG), lymphocyte concentration] measured in this study. In Exp. 2, the ADG were increased (p<0.05) by the MCT5 treatment than the PC treatment from d 0 to 14. Pigs fed PC treatment diet had lower ADFI (p<0.05) and better FCR (p<0.05) than NC treatment, whereas no differences were shown between MCT treatments and NC or PC treatment from d 15 to 35 and overall phase. The ATTD of DM and nitrogen were improved (p<0.05) by the effect of MCT5 related to the NC and PC treatment at the end of 2nd and 5th wk. The pigs fed MCT3 had higher (p<0.05) energy digestibility than PC treatment. No effects were seen in the blood profiles we measured (WBC, RBC, lymphocyte and immunoglobulin-G). In conclusion, the addition of MCT in the weanling pigs diet can improve the ADG and digestibility during the earlier period (first 2 wks), but had little effect on the blood characteristics.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.981-988
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• 2004

An Experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of Natufermen$^{(R)}$;(Aspergillus oryzae) supplementation on the performance, ammonia gas production, microbial population in manure and serum IgG in pigs. Forty eight cross bred(YLD) weanling pigs(35d old) were assigned to 4 treatments; Control(C), $C^+$ Natufermen 0.1%, $C^+$ Natufermen 0.2% $C^+$natufermen 0.3% for 6 week feeding trial. Each treatment had 4 replications of 3 pigs each. Natufermen$^{(R)}$ supplemented treatments tended to increase ADG and ADFI, but there were no significant differences among treatments. Supplementation of Natufermen$^{(R)}$ at the level of 0.2% improved ADFI/ADG(P<0.05). Ammonia gas production from manure was not significantly affected by treatments. All Natufermen$^{(R)}$ treatments increased in DM, crude ash and phosphorus digestibility(P<0.05). Serum IgG decreased as supplemention level of Natufermen$^{(R)}$ increased(P<0.05). Supplemtation of Natufermen$^{(R)}$ at 0.1% and 0.2% increased fecal Lactobacilli population at 3 wks after feeding treated diets(P<0.05). It is concluded that supplementation of Aspergillers oryzae product Natufermen$^{(R)}$ improved feed conversion ratio and digestibility of DM, crud ash and phosphours. Fecal ammonia gas production was not significantly affected but serum IgG level was decreased and CFU of fecal Lactobacilli was increased at 3 wks after feeding Natufermen$^{(R)}$ supplemented diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.77-81
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• 2001

The effects of dietary protein and lysine levels on lactating multiparous sows and litter performance were studied. Sixty-two crossbred multiparous sows ($Landrace{\times}Yorkshire$) were used. Thirty-three and twenty-nine sows were studied in their second parity and third parity respectively. The three dietary treatments were: (1) the control diet containing 15% CP and 0.75% lysine, (2) a diet containing 13% CP and 0.75% lysine (0.60% natural+0.15% synthetic), and (3) a diet containing 13% CP and 0.60% lysine. They were fed twice daily and allowed ad libitum access to food and water throughout a 28 day lactation from parturition until weaning. The results of this experiment showed that body weight and backfat losses of the sows from farrowing to weaning were significantly affected (p<0.01) by reducing dietary protein. Neither average daily feed intake nor weaning to estrus interval of sows were significantly different among treatments. Supplementing lower dietary protein with synthetic lysine could mitigate backfat losses, but could not prevent body weight losses in lactating multiparous sows. A corn-soybean meal diet containing 13% crude protein and 0.60% lysine did not significantly affect litter size and survival rate of weanling piglets compared with the 15% crude protein diet. There was a tendency towards decreased piglet weight at weaning (p<0.10) and reduced daily gain of piglets (p<0.11) when the multiparous sows were fed the 13% protein diet during lactation. We found a severe loss of body weight and backfat when reducing dietary protein for lactating multiparous sows.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 1984

This paper dealt with the histopathological observations of the perirenal edema in pigs and rabbits administered with Amaranthus retroflexus, based on the clinical and pathological observations of the porcine perirenal edema naturally occurred in Korea. The results observed are summarized as follows; In the natural case, clinical signs were trembling, weakness and incoordination of the hindquarters, followed by sternal recumbency, coma and death. Death usually occurred within 24 hours after the signs of illness appeared. In gross findings, the grayish yellow fluid in the perirenal area was observed in each case. In some cases, the amount of fluid in the thoracic and abdominal cavities was increased and the yellowish red color of the hydrothorax and ascites was seen. When the renal capsule was incised, the kidneys were enlarged and congested and petechiae on the cortical surface and blood clots on the capsule appeared. In microscopical findings, there were cloudy swelling, hyaline droplets and necrosis of the convoluted tubules containing proteinaceous casts and a few oxalate crystals. In addition, interstitial and perivascular edema, distention of the Bowman's space and the convluted tubules and hemorrhages were recognized. In the weanling pigs and the adult pig fed various weeds, including Amaranthus retroflexus, Euxolus blitum and Portulaca oleracea, the pigs fed Amaranthus retroflexus appeared clinical signs and pathological findings of perirenal edema usually seen in the pigs of natural cases. In the pigs fed Euxolus blitum or fed Portulaca oleracea, neither clinical signs nor pathological changes were seen. It was regarded that this disease was affected with Amaranthus retroflexus, but there was no sensitivity in the adult pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1244-1251
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• 2008

The aim of the present study was to delineate the expression and secretion of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system components by pig liver cells. Hepatocytes were prepared from 3-wk-old weanling piglets following a two-step collagenase perfusion procedure, after which the cells were incubated for 24 or 48 h at a density of $2{\pm}10^5$ cells per 35-mm dish in 2-ml Williams' medium E. The cells were found to express the genes encoding IGF-I, IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs)-2 and -3 and acid-labile subunit (ALS) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) following the culture. However, IGF-I was localized to hepatocytes by immunohistochemical analysis, whereas IGFBP-3 was localized to endothelial cells, but not to hepatocytes. This indicated that the IGFBP-3 gene expression detected by RT-PCR was likely to have been contributed by unidentified non-parenchymal cells that had not been removed during the hepatocyte preparation. The conditioned culture medium (CCM) of the cells contained immunoreactive IGF-I and IGF-II, with the latter being seven-fold more abundant than the former. The CCM also contained 43-, 40-, 34-, 31-kDa doublet and 26-kDa IGFBPs as examined by Western ligand blotting. The 40-, 34- and 31-kDa doublet IGFBPs were approximately three-fold as abundant as the 43- and 26-kDa IGFBPs. Moreover, the 43- and 40-kDa doublet and the 34-kDa IGFBPs were immunoprecipitable with IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-2 antibodies, respectively. Overall, these results are similar to those known in the rat, which suggests that the IGF system components are likely to be expressed and secreted in pig liver in a manner similar to that in rat liver.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.24.1-24.6
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• 2014

The present study investigated the effects of varying durations of nursery diets differing in percentages of milk products on growth performance of pigs during the nursery phase (NP) and subsequent grow-finish phase (GFP) to find the feasibility of reducing the use of nursery diets containing costly milk products. A total of 204 21-d-old weanling female and castrated male pigs were subjected to one of three nursery phase feeding programs differing in durations on the NP 1 and 2 and GFP diets containing 20%, 7%, and 0% lacrosse and 35%, 8%, and 0% dried whey, respectively, in 6 pens (experimental units) for 33 d: HIGH (NP 1, 2 and 3 diets for 7, 14, and 12 d), MEDIUM (NP 2 and 3 for 14 and 19 d), and LOW (NP 2 and 3 and GFP 1 for 7, 14, and 12 d). Subsequently, 84 randomly selected pigs [14 pigs (replicates)/pen] were fed the GFP 1, 2 and 3 diets during d 54-96, 96-135, and 135-182 of age, respectively. The final body weight (BW) and average daily gain (ADG) of nursery pigs did not differ among the HIGH, MEDIUM, and LOW groups (14.8, 13.3, and 13.7 kg in BW and 273, 225, and 237 g in ADG, respectively). The average daily feed intake during the nursery phase was greater (p < 0.01) in the HIGH group than in the MEDIUM and LOW groups, whereas the gain:feed ratio did not differ across the treatments. The BW on d 182 and ADG during d 54-182 were greater in the HIGH and MEDIUM groups vs. the LOW group (110.0, 107.6, and 99.6 kg in BW, respectively; p < 0.01). The backfat thickness and carcass grade at slaughter on d 183 did not differ across the treatments. In conclusion, the MEDIUM program may be inferior to the commonly used HIGH program in supporting nursery pig growth. Nevertheless, the former appears to be more efficient than the latter in production cost per market pig whereas the LOW program is thought to be inefficient because of its negative effect on post-nursery pig growth.