Author
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Varel, Vincent |
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Yen, Jong Tseng |
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Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 3/21/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Fibrous diets may contribute up to 30% of the maintenance energy needs of the growing pig. Higher energy contributions may be obtained from fibrous diets fed to sows. As long as cereal grain supplies and high quality protein supplements are abundant, the use of fibrous feeds for swine will be limited. However, as the human demand for cereal grains increases, swine producers, especially those with reproductive animals, may be economically forced to incorporate alternative feedstuffs which contain lignified plant cell wall material such as grasses and legumes, and feed-milling and distillery by products which contain a high level of fiber residues. The microflora in the swine large intestine will be able to adapt to these lignified forages and by-product feeds much better than the microflora in the human. Swine microflora contain the most active ruminal cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic bacterial species which include Fibrobacter succinogenes (intestinalis), Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Butyrivibrio sp., and Prevotella ruminocola. Additionally, a new highly active cellulolytic bacterium, Clostridium herbivorans has been recently isolated from the pig large intestine. The number of cellulolytic bacteria from adult animals are approximately 6.7 times greater than those found in growing pigs. None of these highly active cellulolytic bacterial species are found in the human large intestine. Thus, the pig large intestinal fermentation appears to be more rumen like than the human. |
