Effect of dietary β-glucan supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and characteristics of feces in weaned pigs

A total of 150 crossbred weaned pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an average body weight of 6.75 ± 0.49 kg were used in a 6-wk trial to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of β-glucan on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and characteristics of feces (fecal score, microbiota, moisture, and pH) in weaned pigs. The corn-soybean meal based dietary treatments included: 1) antibiotic (30 ppm Tiamulin), 2) 0% β-glucan, 3) 0.1% β-glucan, 4) 0.2% β-glucan, and 5) 0.4% β-glucan. Dietary supplementation with β-glucan resulted in no significant differences in growth performance, nutrient digestibility, or characteristics of feces compared with that of Tiamulin supplementation. Pigs fed β-glucan exhibited a linearly increasing average daily gain and feed/gain ratio. Dietary supplementation of β-glucan linearly increased apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter and energy during 1–14 and 1–42 d as dietary β-glucan increased from 0.1 to 0.4%. In addition, pigs fed β-glucan had linearly decreasing coliform bacterial counts. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with β-glucan from rice bran improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility and coliform bacteria in weaned pigs, and β-glucan had the same effect as Tiamulin supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and characteristics of feces. Thus, we suggest that β-glucan from rice bran can be used as an alternative to antibiotics, and will improve productivity of weaned pigs.