1College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, 071001, China
*Corresponding Author: Cao Hongzhan, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, 071001, China, Email: chz516@126.com
Online published on 6 May, 2023.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of citric acid (CA) on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and gastrointestinal pH of weaned piglets.
A total of 120 weaned piglets with an initial BW of 7.15±0.01 kg, were randomly divided into four groups including control treatment each with three replicates of 10 piglets each. Each group was supplemented with 0.5% (control group), 1%, 1.5% and 2% CA in the basal diet, respectively.
The results showed that the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily gain (ADG) of added 1% CA group were significantly higher than that of 0.5% group (P<0.05). Dietary CA significantly improved the utilization rates of crude protein, calcium and phosphorus (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between adding 1% and 1.5% CA (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, adding CA effectively reduced the pH of the stomach, duodenum jejunum and ileum contents and adding 2% CA were significantly lower than those in other groups (P<0.05). Therefore, the addition of 1.0% CA in the diets of weaned piglets is suitable.
Citric acid, Gastrointestinal pH, Growth performance, Nutrient digestibility, Weaned piglets
