Effects of benzoic acid and inulin on ammonia–nitrogen excretion, plasma urea levels, and the pH in faeces and urine of weaner pigs

Halas, D., Hansen, C.F., Hampson, D.J.ORCID: 0000-0002-7729-0427, Kim, J.C., Mullan, B.P., Wilson, R.H. and Pluske, J.R.ORCID: 0000-0002-7194-2164 (2010) Effects of benzoic acid and inulin on ammonia–nitrogen excretion, plasma urea levels, and the pH in faeces and urine of weaner pigs. Livestock Science, 134 (1-3). pp. 243-245.

Abstract

The present experiment tested the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with BA and IN would reduce total ammonia-N (NH3-N) excretion. Ninety-six female pigs (Large White × Landrace) aged 21 ± 3 days and weighing 5.87 ± 0.077 kg (mean ± S.E.) were used in a 2 × 3 factorial experiment, with the respective factors being benzoic acid (BA; 0 and 5 g/kg) and inulin (IN; 0, 40 and 80 g/kg) in the diets. Pigs were housed individually and fed their respective diet for 3 weeks. Blood samples from 6 focus pigs per diet were collected on days 14 and 21, and digesta, urine and faecal samples were collected at slaughter on day 21. Feeding only BA decreased (P = 0.050) the combined faecal and urinary NH3-N concentration while IN increased (P = 0.001) the NH3-N proportion in faeces and proportionally decreased (P = 0.001) the NH3-N proportion in urine. Additionally, dietary BA reduced the pH level in urine (P = 0.001) and faeces (P = 0.033), and plasma urea levels were decreased with both BA (P = 0.010) and IN (P = 0.008). No significant BA × IN interactions were noted. These data suggest that BA and IN can reduce NH3-N excretion by different mechanisms, possibly by reducing excreta pH and bacterial populations (BA), as well as changing bacterial metabolic activities (BA and IN).

Item Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation:	Animal Research Institute School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Copyright:	© 2010 Elsevier B.V.
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/2678

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