Effect of diet type and added copper on growth performance, carcass characteristics, energy digestibility, gut morphology, and mucosal mRNA expression of finishing pigs

Abstract

A total of 757 pigs (PIC 337 × 1050; initially 27.6 kg BW) were used in a 117-d experiment to determine the effects of added Cu from tribasic copper chloride and diet type on growth performance, carcass characteristics, energy digestibility, gut morphology, and mucosal mRNA expression of finishing pigs. Pens of pigs were allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments, balanced on average pen weight in a randomized complete block design with 26 to 28 pigs per pen and 7 replications per treatment. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of diet type, a corn-soybean meal-based diet (corn-soy) or a high by-product diet (by-product) with 30% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and 15% bakery meal, and added Cu (0 or 150 mg/kg added Cu). There were no Cu × diet type interactions for growth performance. Overall, neither added Cu nor diet type influenced growth performance. However, caloric efficiency was decreased (P = 0.001) for pigs fed the by-product diet compared to the corn-soy diet. Pigs fed the by-product diet had decreased (P < 0.05) carcass yield and carcass G:F) and marginally decreased (P < 0.07) HCW and carcass ADG compared to pigs fed the corn-soy diet. A Cu × diet type interaction (P < 0.05) existed for DM and GE digestibility during the early finishing period as added Cu improved (P < 0.05) digestibility of DM and GE in the corn-soy diet, but not in the by-product diet. During the late finishing period, added Cu marginally increased (P = 0.060) DM and GE digestibility while pigs fed the by-product diet had decreased DM and GE digestibility (P = 0.001) compared to those fed the corn-soy diet. For gut morphology, pigs fed added Cu had decreased crypt depth (P = 0.017) in the distal small intestine compared to those fed no added Cu. Furthermore, relative mRNA expression of intestinal fatty acid binding protein (iFABP) was decreased (P = 0.032) in pigs fed added Cu compared to those fed no added Cu. In summary, adding 150 mg/kg added Cu or including 30% DDGS and 15% bakery meal into a corn-soy diet did not influence growth performance. However, HCW ADG and HCW G:F were reduced in pigs fed the by-product diet compared to the corn-soy diet. Only minor differences in gut morphology or mRNA expression were observed from feeding diets with high levels of Cu or by-products compared to a corn-soy diet.

Effects of inclusion level and amino acid supplementation on energy values of soybean oil determined with difference or regression methods in growing pigs

“…Moreover, in the current study, the diets were formulated with premix containing 100 mg/kg Cu, which had exceeded the suggested supplemental level of copper source in EU (EU Regulation 2018/1039 suggested a copper source level of 25 mg/kg or lower for pigs after 20 kg). The high Cu feeding may lead to the overestimation of the DM and GE digestibility in diets, since previous research reported that the digestibility of DM and GE increased with the addition of Cu in the corn-soy diet [ 27 ].…”

Digestibility and metabolism of copper in diets for pigs and influence of dietary copper on growth performance, intestinal health, and overall immune status: a review

“…Supplementation of Cu to diets increased lipogenesis and fatty acid uptake in fish, indicating that dietary Cu influences post-absorptive metabolism of lipids [157]. Copper supplementation in diets for finishing pigs did not affect mRNA transcription of intestinal CTR1 and FABP [158]. However, supplementation of Cu at 150 mg/kg in diets for growing pigs increased the abundance of lipoprotein lipase and FABP1 in the subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver, respectively [126].…”

Dietary Copper Improves Intestinal Morphology via Modulating Intestinal Stem Cell Activity in Pigs

“…Cu supplementation at pharmacological doses (150-250 mg/kg, resulted in piglets' average body weight of 5.45 kg) improved growth performance and reduced the occurrence of diarrhea in weaned piglets [4,5]. Various studies have shown that high dietary Cu improves intestinal digestive and absorptive functions, which enhances growth performance, as the digestibility of energy, fat, and amino acids increases in pigs fed high Cu diets [6][7][8][9][10]. However, whether dietary Cu improves intestinal digestibility by affecting intestinal morphology is not clear because of the inconsistency of results.…”