Digestibility, performance and morphophysiological characteristics of the digestive tract of weaned piglets under diets with mannanoligosaccharides

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of adding mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) to piglet diets on digestibility of nutrients, performance and morphophysiological characteristics of the digestive tract. In the first experiment, 16 piglets with a weight of 24.8±2.79 kg were used. Total feces were collected to determine the digestibility of the control feed and feed with 0.5% prebiotic. In the second experiment, 30 gilts with ages ranging from 22 to 63 days and a mean weight of 6.28±1.40 kg were used to evaluate diarrhea performance and incidence. In the third experiment, 15 gilts ranging from 22 to 63 days in age and a mean weight of 5.74±0.93 kg were used to evaluate intestinal morphology, relative weight of the liver and pancreas, and pH of the stomach, small intestine and cecum contents. In the second and third experiments, the treatments used were: positive control (basal diet + neomycin sulfate), negative control (basal diet) and basal diet with 0.25, 0.50 or 0.75% of MOS added. The experimental design was in randomized blocks. The use of different levels of MOS in piglet diets does not promote better digestibility of the nutrients, performance and morphophysiological characteristics of digestive tract.