Amino acid fortified diets for weanling pigs replacing fish meal and whey protein concentrate: Effects on growth, immune status, and gut health

Table 6 Villus height and concentrations of volatile fatty acids in digesta of pigs fed experimental diets (d 28)

Items	FM-WPC¹	FM-AA²	WPC-AA³	AA⁴	SEM	P value
n	8	8	8	8
Villus height, μm	376.8	477.8	505.4	472.8	42.2	0.208
Cecum digesta
Acetate, mmol/L	66.04^A	94.63^B	65.24^A	90.86^AB	10.74	0.054
Propionate, mmol/L	40.94	50.15	39.25	47.51	8.37	NS⁵
Isobutyrate, mmol/L	0.54	0.98	0.40	0.83	0.22	NS
Butyrate, mmol/L	18.16	22.30	14.41	25.63	4.45	NS
Isovalerate, mmol/L	0.41^a	0.82^b	0.30^a	0.58^ab	0.12	0.032
Valerate, mmol/L	2.99	2.70	2.22	4.38	0.67	NS
Total, mmol/L	129.06	171.57	121.79	169.78	21.78	NS
Acetate, % of total	53.21	56.15	54.45	52.55	3.40	NS
Propionate, % of total	29.05	28.67	32.27	28.81	3.51	NS
Isobutyrate, % of total	0.31	0.61	0.27	0.45	0.13	NS
Butyrate, % of total	13.95	12.38	11.03	15.35	1.81	NS
Isovalerate, % of total	0.24	0.55	0.22	0.32	0.10	NS
Valerate, % of total	3.24	1.65	1.77	2.53	0.73	NS
Colon digesta
Acetate, mmol/L	92.90	110.52	93.78	117.08	16.81	NS
Propionate, mmol/L	50.58	54.17	52.10	51.78	10.32	NS
Isobutyrate, mmol/L	1.76	1.18	1.69	1.81	0.36	NS
Butyrate, mmol/L	22.67	25.16	20.98	28.60	5.43	NS
Isovalerate, mmol/L	1.99	1.93	1.11	1.44	0.44	NS
Valerate, mmol/L	5.34	3.80	3.70	4.00	1.20	NS
Total, mmol/L	175.22	196.75	173.34	204.68	31.82	NS
Acetate, % of total	54.64	57.20	53.56	57.23	2.51	NS
Propionate, % of total	26.45	26.82	31.14	25.35	2.88	NS
Isobutyrate, % of total	0.77	0.64	0.94	0.88	0.17	NS
Butyrate, % of total	13.36	12.30	11.71	13.90	1.68	NS
Isovalerate, % of total	0.85^AB	1.05^B	0.59^A	0.69^AB	0.18	0.057
Valerate, % of total	3.95	2.00	2.07	1.95	0.73	NS

¹FM-WPC: a control diet with fish meal and whey protein concentrate.
²FM-AA: a diet with fish meal and amino acids replacing whey protein concentrate.
³WPC-AA: a diet with whey protein concentrate and amino acids replacing fish meal.
⁴AA: a diet with amino acids replacing both fish meal and whey protein concentrate.
⁵NS: not significant (P > 0.10).
^a-bMeans lacking a common superscript are differ within a row (P < 0.05).
^A-BMeans lacking a common superscript tend to differ within a row (0.05 ≤ P < 0.1).

ISSN: 2049-1891