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Table 3 Effect of very low protein diets supplemented with limiting and branched-chain amino acids higher than recommended levels on fecal consistency score of nursery pigs

From: Dietary branched-chain amino acids modulate the dynamics of calcium absorption and reabsorption in protein-restricted pigs

Weeks

Diets1

SEM2

P-value

PC

NC

L25

L50

LB25

LB50

Week 1

1.50 ± 0.20

1.37 ± 0.20

1.37 ± 0.20

1.37 ± 0.20

1.00a$* ± 0.22

0.50b¥ ± 0.20

0.09

0.012

Week 2

1.00 ± 0.23

0.37 ± 0.23

0.50 ± 0.23

0.50 ± 0.23

0.75 ± 0.23

0.50 ± 0.23

0.09

0.420

Week 3

0.25 ± 0.16

0.12 ± 0.16

0.37 ± 0.16

0.29 ± 0.17

0.37 ± 0.16

0.12 ± 0.16

0.06

0.779

Week 4

0.29 ± 0.13

0.25 ± 0.12

0.50 ± 0.12

0.0 ± 0.13

0.0 ± 0.12

0.0 ± 0.12

0.06

0.033

  1. 1 PC (positive control), standard protein diet; NC (negative control), low protein diet supplemented with limiting amino acids (LAA, i.e., Lys, Met, Thr and Trp); L25, low protein diet supplemented with LAA, 25% more than NRC (2012) requirements; L50: low protein diet supplemented with LAA 50% more than NRC requirements; LB25: low protein diets supplemented with LAA and branched-chain amino acids (BCAA, i.e., Leu, Ile and Val) 25% more than NRC requirements; LB50: low protein diet supplemented with LAA and BCAA 50% more than NRC requirements. Fecal samples were scored according to: 0 = formed, normal; 1 = soft, wet cement consistency; 2 = runny or watery; 3 = mucoid diarrhea; 4 = bloody diarrhea. The P-values for the overall model effect for diet, week and diet × week were 0.053, < 0.01 and 0.13 respectively. a P ≤ 0.05 LB25 vs. PC, b P ≤ 0.05 LB50 vs. PC, $ P ≤ 0.1 LB25 vs. NC, * P ≤ 0.1 LB25 vs. L25, ¥ P ≤ 0.1 LB50 vs. L50. The values are the means ± SE. n = 8
  2. 2 SEM: standard errors of means