Animals (Oct 2020)
Low-Protein Diet Supplemented with Medium-Chain Fatty Acid Glycerides Improves the Growth Performance and Intestinal Function in Post-Weaning Piglets
Abstract
Medium-chain fatty acid glycerides have been shown to provide energy for rapid oxidation in the body. The study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with medium-chain fatty acid glyceride on the growth performance and intestinal health of weaned piglets fed with a low-protein diet. Nighty healthy weaned piglets were randomly divided into five treatments: NP (Normal protein treatment, normal-protein diet no antibiotics included); NC (Negative control, low-protein diet no antibiotics included); PC (Positive control, low-protein diet +75 mg/kg quinocetone, 20 mg/kg virginiamycin and 50 mg/kg aureomycin); MCT (tricaprylin + tricaprin treatment, low-protein diet + tricaprylin + tricaprin); GML (glycerol monolaurate treatment, low-protein diet + glycerol monolaurate). The results showed that the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the MCT treatment was significantly higher than that of the NP, NC treatments (p p p p p p < 0.05). These results showed that the addition of medium-chain fatty acid glycerides to a low-protein diet could improve the growth performance and intestinal functional barrier of weaned piglets and also improve the immune function of weaned piglets.
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