Abstract
Background Homeopathic products (HP) have been proposed for the prevention of disease and as a complementary dietary additive in pig farming, with resulting improved performance and quality of life of the animals and with benefits for food safety. The aim of this study was to assess the addition of HP to pig feed and its effects on growth performance, dietary protein utilization, nutrient digestibility, meat quality, and economic feasibility.
Methods A total of 80 male pigs, body weight 32.8±2.3kg, were allocated in a randomized design, with two treatments of 10 replications and four animals per experimental unit. Treatments were composed of a control diet (CD) or CD+HP (Finalvitaplus+Figotonus, 1.1kg/ton feed of each product). The outcome measures used were growth performance (body weight gain) and feed efficiency (body weight gain per unit of feed consumed), efficiency of dietary protein utilization (blood urea nitrogen), nutrient digestibility (apparent digestibility coefficient and apparent nutrient digestibility), meat quality (including pH, temperature, color, liquid loss by cooking and thawing, intramuscular fat and meat tenderness), and economic feasibility (cost of the diets).
Results There was no effect (p >0.05) of treatments on growth performance of the pigs, though the group that received HP showed an 8.93% greater feed efficiency than the control group (p=0.077). The animals in the control group had a 14.37% higher blood urea nitrogen concentration in the finishing I phase (70–100kg body weight) compared with those fed HP (p=0.028), indicating lower protein utilization in the controls. There was comparative improvement in digestibility coefficient and in nutrient digestibility in pigs fed HP in the growing–finishing phase (p <0.05). There was no differential effect of treatments on meat quality or economic feasibility (p >0.05).
Conclusion The addition of HP to the diet of growing–finishing pigs produced some improvement in their dietary protein utilization, nutrient digestibility and feed efficiency, though it did not affect their growth performance, meat quality or economic feasibility.
Keywords
feed additive - homeopathy - performance - pigs - urea nitrogen
