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Published on: June 8, 2011
Modeling the efficiency of phosphorus utilization in growing pigs
E Kebreab1, A B Strathe, A Yitbarek
1Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. ekebreab@ucdavis.edu
Journal of Animal Science
|May 3, 2011
Summary
Feeding pigs a low-phosphorus diet supplemented with microbial phytase (AMN) resulted in similar growth performance compared to standard diets (STD). Pigs on the AMN diet utilized phosphorus more efficiently, consuming significantly less inorganic phosphorus and reducing phosphorus excretion by 19%.
Area of Science:
- Animal Nutrition
- Environmental Science
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Phosphorus (P) excretion from swine diets contributes to environmental pollution.
- Microbial phytase is a key enzyme used to improve P utilization and reduce P excretion in pigs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the impact of a low-P diet supplemented with microbial phytase (AMN) on pig growth and P utilization.
- To compare the P efficiency between AMN and standard (STD) diets using mathematical modeling.
Main Methods:
- Utilized nonlinear mixed effects models (Gompertz, generalized Michaelis-Menten, monomolecular functions) to analyze growth and P intake data.
- Assessed body weight (BW) and cumulative P intake (cPI) relationships to determine P utilization efficiency.
- Employed a first-order autoregressive correlation structure for repeated measures analysis.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in final BW or growth rate were observed between pigs fed AMN and STD diets.
- Pigs fed the AMN diet demonstrated significantly higher P utilization efficiency throughout the growth period.
- Pigs on the AMN diet consumed an average of 56g inorganic P, compared to 309g for the STD group, to reach market weight.
- P excretion was reduced by 19% in pigs fed the AMN diet compared to the STD diet.
Conclusions:
- Nonlinear mixed model analysis is effective for evaluating growth and P efficiency in pigs.
- Phytase supplementation in low-P diets allows pigs to perform comparably to those on traditional diets while consuming substantially less inorganic P.
- The AMN diet offers potential economic benefits and significant environmental advantages by reducing P pollution.
