Performance and intestinal health of piglets in the nursery phase subjected to diets with condensed black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) tannin

• Published in: Animal bioscience 2025, 38(1), , pp.117-130
• Main Authors: Souza, Kelly Lais de, Dias, Cleandro Pazinato, Callegari, Marco Aurélio, Friderichs, André, Paes, Alcides Oliver Sencio, de Carvalho, Rafael Humberto, da Silva, Caio Abércio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: additives; digestibility; intestinal microbiota; sodium butyrate; tannin; 축산학
• ISSN: 2765-0189; 2765-0235
• DOI: 10.5713/ab.24.0112

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of condensed tannin from black acacia (Acacia mearnsii) as a substitute additive for zinc oxide and growth-promoting antibiotics on the performance, digestibility, and intestinal health of piglets in the nursery phase.Methods: A total of 200 PIC piglets that were 22 days old and weighed 6.0±0.9 kg were subjected to four treatments in the nursery phase (22 to 64 days of age): CONTR (control diet); ENR+ZnO (control diet + 10 mg/kg of enramycin + 2,500 mg/kg of zinc oxide during the first 21 days); BUT (control diet + 900 mg/kg of sodium butyrate) and TAN (control diet + 2,000 mg/kg of condensed tannin). The experimental design was a randomized block with 4 treatments and 10 replicates, with a pen of five animals each as the experimental unit. The zootechnical performance, diarrhea index score, dietary digestibility and metagenomics of the deep rectum microbiota were evaluated.Results: The TAN had greater weight gain in the nursery phase and final weight (p