Endo-1,4-beta-xylanase with traces of endo-1,4-beta-glucanase improves the performance of weanling pigs supplied diets reduced in 90 kcal metabolisable energy/kg.

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of endo-1,4-beta-xylanase with traces of endo-1,4-beta-glucanase on the performance of 240 piglets (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) with an initial body (BW) of 5.90 ± 0.6 kg. The mixed sex piglets were randomly assigned to 3 treatments with 10 replicates per treatment, and 8 heads per replicate pen. The dietary treatments include (1) corn-wheat-soybean meal (SBM) basal diet without xylanase (XYL) enzyme as positive control (PC), (2) corn-wheat-SBM diet deprived -90 kcal/kg metabolizable energy without XYL enzyme (NC), and (3) corn-wheat-SBM diet deprived -90 kcal/kg metabolizable energy + 0.02 XYL (DG2). The diets were administered in mash form for 42 d (split into 2 phases) as phase 1, d 0-21, and phase 2, d 22-42. All the experimental diets were designed to fulfil the nutrient requirement by NRC 2012. The results show XYL supplementation significantly increased (p < 0.05) final body weight and overall average daily gain (ADG) while enhancing feed efficiency (G/F) compared to the negative control group (NC). Nutrient digestibility was notably improved, with significant increases (p < 0.05) in gross energy (GE), xylan, and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) digestibility in both phases. The incorporation of XYL also increased monosaccharide and xylooligosaccharide levels in the ileum and caecum, indicating enhanced carbohydrate breakdown. Additionally, XYL supplementation improved the gut microbiota profile by showing higher tendency (p = 0.066) for beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus with a tendency (p = 0.052) for lower Escherichia coli counts. Overall, XYL supplementation effectively enhanced growth performance and nutrient digestibility in weanling pigs on a low-energy diet.