Affiliation: | aDanish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition, Denmark bMTT Agrifood Research Finland, Animal Production Research, Finland cSwedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Sweden dSouth Dakota State University, Animal and Range Sciences, USA |
Abstract: | The concentration and composition of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) in gastrointestinal and faecal samples were studied in weaning pigs fed different amounts and composition dietary fibre (DF). In Trial 1 a total of 50 castrated piglets were fed five experimental diets with varying contents of citrus pectin (soluble fibre) and barley hulls (insoluble fibre) and gastrointestinal contents were collected at euthanasia 9 days after weaning. In Trial 2, 120 pair-wise penned piglets were allocated to the same experimental diets as in Trial 1 (24 piglets per treatment), and fresh faecal samples were collected 5 and 32 days after weaning. There was no difference in the concentrations of SCFA caused by dietary treatments, but across treatments there was a correlation between concentration of SCFA and the proportion of butyrate. The correlation was lowest in the caecum (r2 = 0.22, P = 0.0007) and highest in the distal colon (r2 = 0.45, P = 0.0001). In faeces there was no relationship 5 days after weaning (r2 = 0.004. P = 0.64) but a correlation of r2 = 0.25 (P = 0.0001) 32 days after weaning. The results suggest that adaptive changes and differences between piglets in fermentative capacity immediately after weaning are associated not only with a higher concentration of SCFA but also a changed fermentation profile. |