Effect of medium-chain triglycerides on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma metabolites and antioxidant capacity in weanling pigs

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma metabolites and antioxidant capacity in weanling pigs. A total of 160 weanling (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) pigs (age: 21 ± 1 d; body weight: 7.50 ± 0.28 kg) were randomly allotted to 4 treatments, receiving the following diets for 28 d: control diet [containing 3.5% soybean oil (SO)], MCT1 diet (containing 0.7% MCTs and 2.8% SO), MCT2 diet (containing 1.4% MCTs and 2.1% SO) and MCT3 diet (containing 2.1% MCTs and 1.4% SO). Dietary inclusion of MCTs improved the average daily gain and feed efficiency (FE) of pigs compared with the control during the first 2 weeks post-weaning (P < 0.05). A similar positive effect was also observed for the overall FE in MCT2 group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of ether extract was improved by MCT2 and MCT3 treatment from day 12–14 post-weaning (P < 0.05). In addition, MCT2 treatment also exerted a beneficial effect on the ATTD of dry matter (P < 0.05). The increased total protein concentration and decreased urea nitrogen and malondialdehyde levels of plasma were observed in both MCT2 and MCT3 groups on day 14 post-weaning (P < 0.05). In conclusion, MCTs could improve growth performance, nutrients utilization, and antioxidant ability of weanling piglets.