Influence of <i>Lonicera japonica</i> and <i>Radix Puerariae</i> Crude Extracts on the Fecal Microbiome and Nutrient Apparent Digestibility of Finishing Pigs

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the influence of adding Lonicera japonica (L. japonica) and Radix Puerariae crude extracts and their mixture to the diet of finishing pigs on their fecal microbes and nutrient apparent digestibility. A total of 72 healthy Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred barrows without significant differences in body weight (93 ± 2 kg) were selected and randomly divided into four groups (18 in each group). Three replicate pens per group (six pigs per pen) were used, and two pigs were evaluated for each pen. The groups were fed the following diets: control group (CON), basic diet; chlorogenic acid group (CGA group), basic diet + 1 kg/ton L. japonica crude extract; Pueraria flavonoid group (PF group), basic diet + 1 kg/ton Radix Puerariae crude extract; and mix group (Mix group), basic diet + 0.5 kg/ton L. japonica crude extract + 0.5 kg/ton Radix Puerariae crude extract. The following results were obtained: (1) At the phylum level, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Spirochaetes, Proteobacteria, Fibrobaeteres, and Kiritimatiellaeota were the main components of the fecal microbiota (top 5); the relative abundance of bacteria from phyla Firmicutes significantly increased in the Mix group than in the CON group (p p p p Lonicera japonica and Radix Puerariae crude extract supplementation in the diet significantly changed fecal microbiota and improved the protein and TP digestibility of finishing pigs.

Keywords

• finishing pigs
• feces microbiota
• <i>Lonicera japonica</i> crude extracts
• <i>Radix Puerariae</i> crude extracts
• nutrient apparent digestibility