PSIV-A-9 - Effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on growth performance and diarrhea of weaned pigs

Abstract: The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of non-nutritive sweeteners on growth performance and severity of diarrhea in weaned pigs. 168 pigs (6.13 ± 0.41 kg body weight (BW)) were weaned at 21 ± 1 days and allotted to one of the 4 dietary treatments with 6 pigs/pen, using a randomized complete block design based on BW and sex as blocks. The 4 dietary treatments were: (1) Control (CON): Basal nursery diet; (2) Sucralose (SCL): CON supplemented with 150 mg/kg of sucralose; (3) Neotame (NEO): CON supplemented with 30 mg/kg of neotame; and (4) Antibiotic (ATB): CON supplemented with 50 mg/kg carbadox. Pigs were fed for 28 days, divided into 2 phases (phase 1: day 0 to 14; phase 2: day 15 to 28), with the experimental diets formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements as suggested by NRC, 2012. BW and feed disappearance were measured at the end of each interval (day 7, 14, 21, and 28) after weaning to calculate average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed efficiency (G:F). Diarrhea scores were recorded twice daily throughout the experiment, with scores ranging from 1 to 5 (1 = normal to 5 = watery diarrhea). The frequency of diarrhea was calculated as the percentage of pen days with a diarrhea score of 4 or greater, indicating severe diarrhea. All data were analyzed using ANOVA with the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS, with a pen as the experimental unit. The frequency of diarrhea was analyzed using a Chi-square test. Supplementation of NEO resulted in greater (P < 0.05) BW on day 7 and improved (P < 0.05) ADG, ADFI, and G:F during day 0 to 7, compared to the CON group. Pigs supplemented with ATB had greater (P < 0.05) BW on day 7, enhanced (P < 0.05) ADG, and tended to increase ADFI (P = 0.062) and G:F (P = 0.068), compared to the CON group. In phase 2, NEO supplementation tended to increase ADFI (P = 0.070) compared to pigs in the ATB group. Pigs fed non-nutritive sweeteners or antibiotic diet had limited impacts on overall growth performance and daily diarrhea scores. However, supplementation of SCL significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the frequency of severe diarrhea during phase 1 (9.18% vs. 19.39%) and throughout the experiment (4.59% vs. 10.71%) compared to pigs fed the CON, respectively. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of non-nutritive sweetener neotame could improve growth performance during the first week after weaning, while sucralose could alleviate the severity of post-weaning diarrhea, respectively. Further studies are warranted to explore the effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on post-weaning responses and the mechanisms underlying these observed changes in pigs.