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Twenty eight barrows (25.7 kg, SEM 1.2) were assigned to one of 4 diets in a randomized complete block design. Corn soybean diets were supplemented with 10 ppm of copper and 100 ppm zinc from organic or inorganic sources, and with (0.1%) or without mannan-oligosaccharide according to a 2 x 2 factorial design. Animals were maintained in individual metabolic crates for an adaptation period of 3 days following by a collection period of 5 days for the total collection of urine and faeces. Pigs fed organic mineral supplemented diets had higher feed intake (2,247 vs. 2,068 g/d, SEM 86, P < 0.05), copper intake (56.5 vs. 50.7 mg/d, SEM 2.2, P < 0.07) and zinc intake (325 vs. 293 mg/d, SEM 10, P < 0.04) than those fed diets supplemented with the inorganic minerals.
The higher zinc and copper intakes in the organic treatment led to higher copper retention (32.0 vs. 22.4 mg/d, SEM 2.5, P < 0.01) and a trend for higher zinc retention (170 vs. 142 mg/d, SEM 10, P < 0.07). There was also a trend for a reduction in faecal copper excretion (23.8 vs. 27.7 mg/d, SEM 1.5, P < 0.09). These results explain the increased digestibility (45 vs. 56%, SEM 2, P < 0.01) and net utilization (44 vs. 55%, SEM 2, P < 0.01) of copper when fed in the organic form. However, these effects tended to be more pronounced when the diet did not contain mannan-oligosaccharide (interaction, mineral form × mannan-oligosaccharide, P < 0.09, without MOS 41 vs. 59% and with mannan-oligosaccharide 48 vs. 54%, SEM 3 for digestibility; without mannan-oligosaccharide 40 vs. 57% and with mannan-oligosaccharide 48 vs. 54% for net utilization).Mineral form and mannan-oligosaccharide supplementation had no significant effect on zinc digestibility or net utilization.
These results suggest that organic mineral supplementation is an effective method to improve the digestibility and net utilization of copper, and reduce its total excretion but these effects would be less pronounced when the diet is supplemented with mannan-oligosaccharide.
A Lebel, F Guay, and P Groenewegen, 2010. Journal of Animal Science, 88 (E-Suppl. 2):659.
