Effects of protease supplementation on growth performance, blood constituents, and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs

Aspartic protease supplementation enhancing the performance, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility and economic viability, without changing blood parameters and salivary cortisol of pigs

Aiming to study the performance, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, salivary cortisol levels, and economic viability of pigs administered aspartic protease, a total of 135 pigs were housed in pens in a randomized block design, divided into five treatments with nine replications. The experimental diets were positive control (PC), basic diet with a 5.0% reduction in protein and amino acid requirements; negative control (NC) with a 7.5% reduction in protein and amino acid requirements; NC + 100 g/mT of aspartic protease (NC100); NC + 150 g/mT of aspartic protease (NC150); and NC + 200 g/mT of neutral serine protease (NC200). The inclusion of protease, independently of the source and amount, increased the average daily weight gain (P < 0.05) of animals compared with the control treatments (PC and NC), improved feed conversion (P < 0.05) in early stages, and improved diet digestibility (P < 0.05) compared with the PC. Treatment with NC150 and NC200 resulted in greater carcass weights (P < 0.05) than treatment with the PC. NC100 led to a greater carcass yield than PC (P < 0.05), and NC150 resulted in a greater loin eye area than PC (P < 0.05). No differences (P > 0.05) in the blood parameters or salivary cortisol levels were found. Regarding economic viability, proteases increased the profitability, with NC150 leading to the best results. Thus, the use of aspartic proteases is recommended to improve performance and further facilitate pork production.

Effect of insect protein and protease on growth performance, blood profiles, fecal microflora and gas emission in growing pig

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of Hermetia illucens larvae (HIL) as protein and protease on growth performance, blood profiles, fecal microflora, and gas emission in growing pig. In experiment 1, the seventy-two crossbred growing pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) with an initial body weight (BW) of 27.98 ± 2.95 kg were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments (3 pigs per pen and 6 replicates pen per treatments). The experimental design was a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments evaluating two diets (Poultry offal diets and HIL diets) without or with supplementing protease. The poultry offal in basal diet has been replaced by HIL. In experiment 2, the four crossbred growing pigs ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) with an initial BW of 28.2 ± 0.1 kg were individually accepted in stainless steel metabolism cages. The dietary treatments included: 1) PO- (PO-; poultry offal diet), 2) PO+ (PO- + 0.05% protease), 3) HIL- (3% PO of PO- diet was replacement 3% HIL), 4) HIL+ (HIL- + 0.05% protease). In experiment 1, From weeks 0 to 2, average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (G:F) were significantly increased in the PO diet group compared with the HIL group. From weeks 2 to 4, ADG and G:F were higher for protease group than for non-protease group. At weeks 2 and 4, the PO diet group had lower blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels than HIL diet group. In experiment 2, crude protein (CP) and nitrogen (N) retention were decreased by HIL diet at weeks 2 and 4. The fecal microflora and gas emission were not affected by HIL and protease. The HIL diet showed lower CP digestibility than PO diet and total essential amino acids digestibility tended to higher in PO diet than HIL diet. In summary, the present study revealed that replacement of the PO protein with the HIL protein and the additive of protease in growing pig diets during the overall experimental period had no negative effect.

Supplementation of protease to low amino acid diets containing superdose level of phytase for wean-to-finish pigs: effects on performance, postweaning intestinal health and carcass characteristics

This experiment investigated the effects of protease supplementation to low amino acid (AA) diets containing phytase on pig growth performance, postweaning intestinal health and carcass characteristics. A total of 936 weaned pigs (21 d of age, initial BW 5.87 ± 0.31 kg) were used in a 2 × 2 factorial design comparing the main effects of AA supply [standard feeding program: balanced for all nutrients with adjustment of Ca and P due to inclusion of phytase (2,500 FTU/kg in Phase 1 to 4; 500 FTU/kg in Phase 5 to 9) vs. low AA feeding program: 15% lower standardized ileal digestible lysine with relative reduction of all other essential AA] and protease level (0 vs. 0.0125%). Pens were assigned to dietary treatment according to a randomized complete block design with 26 pigs per pen and nine replicates per dietary treatment. Feed and water were provided on an ad libitum basis for all phases throughout the wean-to-finish period. Feed intake and body weight were determined every 2 wk during nursery period and monthly in the grow-finish period. Intestinal health in the first 17 d was assessed based on lactulose:mannitol ratio (L:M), serum IgA, and pen diarrhea assessment. Overall, pigs fed standard wean-to-finish diets had greater (P < 0.05) ADG and G:F than pigs fed low AA diets. Pig growth performance was not different throughout the wean-to-finish period with or without protease supplementation and with no interaction between AA supply and protease supplementation. There were no differences among dietary treatments for carcass characteristics. No difference was observed for urinary L:M and serum IgA; however, the L:M ratio was approximately 32% lower in pigs fed low AA diets + protease compared with pigs fed standard and low AA diets at d 5 and d 17 postweaning. Pigs fed protease supplemented diets had lower incidence of diarrhea (χ² < 0.05) compared with pigs fed diets without protease. Results of the experiment indicate that dietary protease supplementation benefits intestinal health of nursery pigs.

The effect of protease on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and expression of growth-related genes and amino acid transporters in broilers

During the course of this trial, our team assessed the influence of protease upon the growth performance, the nutrient digestibility, and the expression of growth-related genes and amino acid transporters within the liver, muscle, and small intestines of broilers. During the first step, our team allocated 600 broilers into four dietary treatments for a period of 35 days in order to measure the growth performance and nutrient digestibility of the broilers selected. The separate treatments contained 10 replicates (15 birds per replicate). The treatments were composed of: 1) CON, basal diet; 2) T1, basal diet + 0.03% protease; 3) T2, basal diet + 0.06% protease; and 4) T3, basal diet + 0.09% protease. Next, the broiler chick sample tissue was harvested from the CON and T3 groups in order to conduct gene expression analysis following the feeding trials the broilers underwent. Our team discovered that the broilers fed protease diets possessed increased body weight and an average daily gain, but conversely, had lower feed conversion ratios when their dietary protease levels increased from 0% to 0.09% (p < 0.05). Additionally, significant linear improvements were identified among the nutrient digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, energy, and amino acids within broilers supplied with protease diets when contrasted and compared with broilers supplied with the basal diet (p < 0.05). In addition, the gene expression of the genes IGF1, IGF2, GH, and LEP in the liver, and the genes MYOD1 and MYOG in the breast muscles, was significantly increased after broilers were fed with a protease diet as compared to broilers that subsisted on a basal diet (p < 0.05). Protease supplementation also raised the expression levels within these amino acid transporters: SCL6A19, SLC7A1, SLC7A7, SLC7A2, SLC7A6, SLC7A9, and SLC15A1, located in the small intestine, when compared to the basal diet (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that protease supplementation in their diet improved the growth performance of broilers via an increase in the expression growth-related genes within broiler liver and muscle tissue. In addition, protease supplementation enhanced broiler digestibility via the upregulation of amino acid transporter expression within the small intestine.

Dietary protease improves growth rate and protein digestibility of growing-finishing pigs

This research was performed to investigate the hypothesis that dietary mono-component protease (PRO) might improve growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. A total of eighty-four pigs [Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire), 25.3 ± 2.16 kg initial body weight] were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments (7 replicates/treatment; 2 barrows and 2 gilts/replicate) in a randomized complete block design (block = sex). The dietary treatments were prepared as follows; (1) a positive control (PC) as a typical growing-finishing diet based on corn and soybean meal, (2) PC added with 0.015% of PRO (PCPRO), and (3) a negative control (NC) added with 0.015% of PRO (NCPRO). The NC had a lower concentration of crude protein (CP) compared with PC. The PRO was a commercial product that contained 75,000 protease units/g and derived from Nocardiopsis prasina produced in Bacillus licheniformis. Dietary treatments were offered to pigs during growing and finishing periods. Measurements were growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients, and carcass characteristics. The PCPRO and/or NCPRO increased average daily gain (ADG) and gain to feed ratio (G:F) during growing (p < 0.10), finishing (p < 0.05), and growing-finishing periods (p < 0.10) compared with PC. Furthermore, pigs fed PCPRO and NCPRO had higher (p < 0.05) ATTD of CP and energy during growing and/or finishing periods than those fed PC. In conclusion, the supplementation of PRO in diets improved growth performance and protein digestibility of growing-finishing pigs.

Effects of dietary protease on immune responses of weaned pigs

This experiment was conducted to investigate effects of dietary protease on immune responses of weaned pigs. Weaned pigs (n = 75; 7.06 ± 0.18 kg BW; 28 d old) were randomly assigned to 3 treatments (5 pigs/pen; 5 pens/treatment). Dietary treatments were positive control, a diet with required protein level (PC), negative control, a diet with lower protein level than PC (NC), and NC + 0.02% dietary protease (PRO). The dietary protease used in this experiment was a commercial product containing 75,000 protease units/g derived from Nocardiopsis prasina produced in Bacillus licheniformis. The dietary treatments did not contain any ingredients or additives that may provide antibacterial or physiological effects. Pigs were fed respective dietary treatments for 6 weeks. Blood was collected from randomly selected 2 pigs in each pen on d 1, 3, 7, and 14 after weaning. Measurements were number of white blood cells (WBC), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Pigs fed PRO had lower WBC on d 7 (14.84 vs 20.42 × 10³/μL; p < 0.05) and TNF-α on d 7 (618 vs 889 pg/mL; p = 0.085) and 14 (437 vs 576 pg/mL; p = 0.069) than those fed NC, but there were no differences on WBC and TNF-α between PC and PRO. Pigs fed PRO had lower TGF-β1 on d 3 (630 vs. 1,588 and 1,396 pg/mL; p < 0.05) than those fed PC and NC. However, no differences were found on CRP among dietary treatments. In conclusion, addition of dietary protease reduced inflammatory immune responses of weaned pigs.

Dietary protease improves growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology of weaned pigs

This study was conducted to evaluate effects of dietary protease (PR) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology of weaned pigs. A total of 75 weaned pigs [7.06 ± 0.18 kg of average body weight (BW); 28 day old] were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design (blocks = BW and sex): a diet based on corn and soybean meal to meet the requirement of crude protein (CP) as a positive control (PC; CP = 24.49%), a low protein diet as a negative control (NC; CP = 22.51%), and NC + 0.02% PR. The PR used in this study was a commercial product containing 75,000 protease units/g derived from Nocardiopsis prasina produced in Bacillus licheniformis. Pigs were fed the dietary treatments for 6 weeks and the diets containing 0.2% chromic oxide for the last week of this study. Blood, feces, ileal digesta, and ileum samples were collected from randomly selected two pigs in each pen on respective time points. Measurements were growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM), CP, and energy, frequency of diarrhea, packed cell volume (PCV), and ileal morphology of weaned pigs. Pigs fed PC and PR had higher (p < 0.05) final BW, average daily gain (ADG), and gain to feed ratio (G:F) during overall experimental period than those fed NC. Pigs fed PC and PR had higher (p < 0.05) AID or ATTD of DM, CP, or energy than those fed NC. Moreover, pigs fed PR had higher ratio between villus height and crypt depth (p < 0.05) and number of goblet cells (p < 0.05) than those fed NC. Addition of PR decreased (p < 0.05) frequency of diarrhea for the first two weeks after weaning compared with PC and NC. In addition, pigs fed PR had lower (p < 0.05) PCV on d 14 after weaning than those fed PC and NC. In conclusion, addition of PR in nursery diets with a low protein level significantly improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology of weaned pigs.

Effects of dietary mixture of protease and probiotics on growth performance, blood constituents, and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary mixture of protease and probiotics on growth performance, blood constituents, and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. A total of 48 growing pigs were randomly allotted into 2 dietary (6 pigs/pen; 4 replicates/treatment). The treatments were a diet based on corn and soybean meal (CON) and CON supplemented with 0.01% of dietary mixture of protease and probiotics (MULTI). No differences were found on growth performance (average daily gain, ADG; overall, 874.06 vs. 881.14 g/d; p > 0.05), blood constituents (white blood cell, WBC; phase I, 17.51 vs. 19.96 × 10³ /μL; phase II, 19.65 vs. 21.95 × 10³ /μL; p > 0.05), and carcass characteristics during overall experimental period between CON and MULTI. In conclusion, the addition of dietary mix-ture of protease and probiotics in growing-finishing pig diet did not have any beneficial effects.