Effects of red beet supplementation on growth and post weaning diarrhoea in weaned piglets

摘要

Production wastes from red beet, are viable sources of alternate feed ingredient for weaned pig diet to alleviate post weaning diarrhoea.Following the ban on the use of in-feed antibiotics in livestock production, other alternatives are being sought to alleviate post weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs. Pharmacological levels of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) (2,000 to 4,000 mg/kg) is currently been used,but this will also be banned in the near future owing to concerns from environmental accumulation of zinc. Red beetroot has been found a good source of bioactive compounds such as; betalains and polyphenols as well as fibre. Beet bioactives have also being associated with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, research related to the in-vivo effects of beet supplementation are largely insufficient. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of red beetroot supplement in weaned pig diets on post weaning diarrhoea and growth performance.