Influences of Enzyme Blend Supplementation on Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Fecal Microbiota and Meat-Quality in Grower-Finisher Pigs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In livestock nutrition, wide use of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance that can have an adverse impact on animal health. For this reason, various feed additives have been used as alternatives to growth promotors to improve animal performance. This study evaluates the effects of enzyme blend supplementation on the performance of pigs. The results demonstrated that dietary inclusion of an enzyme blend improved the growth performance, digestibility, meat quality and microbial populations in pigs. These findings are useful to the development of new feed additives in the livestock industry. ABSTRACT: The study was aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of an enzyme blend on growth performance, apparent total track digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N), gross energy (GE), fecal microbial population, noxious gas emissions and meat quality of pigs fed corn–soybean meal-based diets for a 16-week feeding trial. A total of 180 growing pigs (body weight of 23.3 ± 2.51 kg) were used and randomly allotted to one of three dietary treatments (positive control (PC, basal diet); negative control (NC, −150 kcal/kg of PC); A1 (NC + 1% enzyme blend)). Overall, dietary inclusion of the enzyme blend increased (p < 0.05) body weight, average daily gain and gain:feed ratio without effecting average daily feed intake. An increase was observed in ATTD of DM (p = 0.027) and GE (p = 0.026) at week 16 and 6, respectively. Dietary inclusion of the enzyme blend increased the beneficial effects on fecal microbiota counts such as Lactobacillus with a reduced presence of E. coli during the entire experiment (p < 0.05). Further, positive effects (p < 0.05) were observed on back-fat thickness and carcass weight of pigs, along with the results of reduced levels of NH(3) emissions (p = 0.032) at week 16. Thus, the study suggested that the dietary enzyme blend supplement had improving effects on growth performance, ATTD of nutrients, fecal microbial counts and meat quality in pigs.