Effect of Dietary Herbal Oligosaccharides on Growth Performance and Nutrient Utilization of Crossbred Pigs

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of dietary herbal oligosaccharides on the growth performance of crossbred pigs. Twenty-four crossbred (Hampshire × Assam local) piglets (12±0.81 kg; ∼2 M) were randomly divided into four dietary groups, and fed a basal diet alone (control, CON) or diet supplemented with ammercial herbal oligosaccharide (Indian Herbs Research and Supply Co. Ltd) at 0.1 (T₁), 0.2 (T₂) and 0.3 (T₃) percent in the feed. During the feeding trial of 182 days, total BW gain, average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were significantly (P<0.01) increased in T₁ and T₂ groups as compared to the CON group. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) among the treatment groups with respect of feed intake. The digestibility of DM, OM, CP, CF, EE and NFE was significantly (P<0.01) increased in T₁ and T₂ groups than the CON group. This was accompanied by higher (P<0.01) retention of nitrogen and phosphorus in the T₁ and T₂ groups. The retention of calcium remained similar (P>0.05) among the three groups. The study revealed that the supplementation of te heral oligosaccharide product at 0.2% level in the piglets is beneficial in terms of growth performance and nutrient utilization.