Baose LAI,Qiumin LIN*,Boquan LIN,Zhong JI

1.Fujian Vocational College of Agricultural Technology,Fuzhou 350119,China;

2.Xiapu County Wanjiafu Agricultural cooperative,Xiapu 355104,China

Responsible editor:Tingting XU Responsible proofreader:Xiaoyan WU

In modern pig production,early weaning is widespread used in order to improve economic benefits.However,early weaning usually leads to the occurrence of early weaning stress syndrome,which is characterized by slow growth and occurrence of diarrhea.In piglets,poor appetite,digestive disorders,slow growth,diarrhea,reduced immunity,increased mortality and other issues often occur due to the effects of environment,immunity and feed.So lincomycin,chlortetracycline,doxycycline,etc.are often added to the diets of piglets to control diseases,promote growth and reduce occurrence of diarrhea.However,the long-term use of antibiotics is likely to cause drug resistance,enhanced resistance to drugs in pathogens and a large quantity of issues in livestock security and quality.With more and more attention paid to livestock security and quality and gradually prohibited utilization of antibiotics,the development of highly efficient and safe alternatives to antibiotics is becoming increasingly urgent and the researches on green feed additives are increasingly strengthened day by day[1].Combining the actual pig production,the Astragalus membranaceus,Houttuynia cordata,radix isatidis,Codonopsis pilosula,Glycyrrhiza uralensis and other herbs were crushed and then added to the diets of piglets in according to the principles of clearing heat,detoxifying,benefiting stomach,promoting digestion,invigorating qi,promoting blood circulation and improving animal immunity.Thus the effects of a compound Chinese herbal medicine on growth performance and occurrences of diarrhea in piglets were investigated.

Material and Methods

Compound Chinese herbal medicine additive

The self-made compound Chinese herbal medicine consisted of

Astragalus membranaceus,Houttuynia cordata,radix isatidis,Codonopsis pilosula,Glycyrrhiza uralensis and other herbs.All the Chinese herbs were purchased from the medicine market located in Fuzhou.The herbs were mixed together in according to certain proportions.The mixture was then crushed and passed through a 500-mesh sieve.The prepared herbal medicine powder was added to the diets of piglets in I (0.4%),II (0.7%) and III(1.0%)groups,respectively.

Test design

The test was carried out in a farm located in Putian,Fujian in August of 2013.A total of 100 healthy DLY weaned piglets aging 26±2 days were selected.Their average initial body weight was 6.35 ±0.49 kg.The 100 piglets were divided into 5 groups in according to the principles of similar parity (3-5),similar body weight and half male and half female.The piglets in the control group were fed with basal diet.For the piglets in the I,II and III groups,0.4%,0.7% and 1.0%of Chinese herbal medicine additive were added to the basal diets,respectively.The basal diet of piglets in the IV group was added with 30 mg/kg of oxytetracycline.The test was started on the day when the piglets were transferred from the delivery room to the nursery house and it lasted for 35 d.

Feeding and management

The piglets were concentrated in the same piggery.Their breeding and management were consistent.During the test period,the feed intakes and occurrence of diarrhea in piglets were observed and recorded.The remaining feed for each of the piglets was weighed every morning and this part of feed was deducted from the feed intake of piglet.Once certain piglet dies during the test,the daily feed amount will be reduced by the percentage between the body weight of dead piglet and that of original total piglets.

Indicator measurement and methods

Growth performanceThe body weights of piglets were weighed before feeding in the morning of the 12th,24thand 35 d from the test on.The average daily feed intakes (ADFI),average daily gains (ADG)and feed to gain ratios (F/G)in different stages were calculated.

Average daily gain = (Final body weight-Initial body weight)/Test period;

Average daily feed intake = Total feed consumption/Test period;

Feed to gain ratio = Feed consumption/Body weight gain.

Incidence of diarrheaThe occurrence of diarrhea in piglets was observed three times(08:00,12:30,17:00)a day.The feces of piglets were divided into three levels,including formed feces,thick-liquid feces and thin-liquid feces[2].The piglets that discharged thick-liquid feces or thin-liquid feces were treated as diarrhea-infected.From the test on,the number of diarrhea-infected piglets in each group was counted.Thus the incidence of diarrhea could be calculated.

Incidence of diarrhea =Total diarrhea-Infected piglets/(Tested piglets×test period)×100%.

Data analysis

The results are expressed as mean±standard deviation.The ANOVA analysis and significance analysis were carried out using SPSS 17.0.

Results and Analysis

Effects of compound Chinese herbal medicine on growth performance of weaned piglets

As shown in Table1,there were significant differences in feed intake,daily gain and F/G ratio among I,II and III groups (P ＜0.05).The daily gains and daily feed intakes of piglets in the herb additive treatment groups were higher than those of control group in varying degrees.

The daily gains of weaned piglets in the I,II and III groups were 16.22%(P＜0.05),10.81% (P＜0.05)and 8.11%(P ＜0.05) higher than that of control group.The daily gain of antibiotic treatment group was 21.62% higher than that of control group(P＜0.05).The daily feed intakes of piglets in the three herb additive treatment groups were higher than that of control group by 11.76%(I,P ＜0.05),8.82% (II,P ＜0.05) and 5.88%(III,P ＞0.05).The daily feed intake of the IV group was 14.71%higher than that of control group (P ＜0.05).In terms of F/G ratio,the I,II,III and IV groups were higher than the control group by 3.8% (P ＜0.05),1.63% (P ＜0.05),2.17%(P ＜0.05)and 5.46%(P ＜0.05),respectively.

Effects of compound Chinese herbal medicine on occurrence of diarrhea in weaned piglets

The incidences of diarrhea in the I,II and III groups were reduced by 4.85% (P ＜0.05),5.14% (P ＜0.05)and 5.63% (P ＜0.05) respectively compared to that in the control group.The incidence of diarrhea in piglets that had been fed with oxytetracycline was reduced by 5.84%(P ＜0.05)com-pared to that of control group.The incidences of diarrhea in piglets that had been fed with 1.0% of compound Chinese herbal medicine additive and 30 mg/kg of oxytetracycline were equivalent,but they were all significantly lower than that in piglets fed only with basal diet(P ＜0.05).

Table1 Effects of compound Chinese herbal medicine additive on growth performance and occurrence of diarrhea in weaned piglets

Discussion

Effects of compound Chinese herbal medicine on growth performance of weaned piglets

In this study,the daily gain,daily feed intake and F/G ratio of weaned piglets were significantly improved by adding compound Chinese herbal medicine additive.Chinese herbal medicine contains a variety of biological active components.The adding of Chinese herbal medicine to basal diet in according to certain proportion can enhance nutrition,enhance metabolism and improve immunity,thereby increasing the growth rate of animal.The extracts of Chinese herbs can effectively improve the daily gain and F/G ratio of weaned piglets[3].The Chinese herbal compound ever added to the corn-soybean meal basal diet (2 g/kg) of piglets.The results showed the daily gain and daily feed intake of 21-d-old weaned piglets were increased by 19%and 20%respectively compared to those of control group,while the F/G ratio in the 3rdweek was improved by 11%[4].The results of this study were consistent with the results above.The ADFI and ADG were all increased to some extent.In addition,there were no significant differences in ADFI,ADG or F/G ratio between the compound Chinese herbal medicine additive treatment groups and the antibiotic treatment group.The treatment effects of 0.4% of compound Chinese herbal medicine additive were close to those of 30 mg/kg of oxytetracycline.However,the treatment effects of 0.7% and 1.0% of compound Chinese herbal medicine additive were not as better as those of 0.4% of additive.The high-concentration Chinese herbal medicine additive may affect the odor of feed,thereby reducing the feed intake of piglets.This may explain why the high-concentration herbal additive inhibited the growth of piglets.

Effects of compound Chinese herbal medicine on occurrence of diarrhea in weaned piglets

Due to the weaning stress,diarrhea often occurs in weaned piglets.Even worse,the weaned piglets may be infected with dysentery.The application of antibiotics may result in the occurrence of drug resistance and antibiotic residues.Moreover,the economic benefits may be reduced.Chinese herbal medicine has lower costs,but it has good control effect on diarrhea[5-7].This study proved that the compound Chinese herbal medicine can effectively reduce the incidence of diarrhea in weaned piglets.Chinese herbal medicine may effectively improve digestion and improve intestinal microflora,enhancing the body’s immune function and reducing stress,thereby reducing the occurrence of diarrhea in weaned piglets.

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