Ed twice daily, when pigs were also fed. Feed was available
Ed twice daily, when pigs were also fed. Feed was available ad libitum. Water access was ad libitum on water nipples. The pigs were reared according to the Council directive for minimum standards for the protection of pigs (91/630/EEC). The pigs were randomized into three groups fed different diets for three weeks. Group I (7 females and 5 castrates) were fed basal diet (Table 1), which was commercial feed for growers (Jata Emona; Ljubljana, Slovenia). Group II (8 females and 4 castrates) were fed the same basal diet, with added 0.3 commercial acidificant FraAcidDry (Perstorp Franklin; Waspik, The Netherlands), which contains lactic acid, citric acid, formic acid, fumaric acid and ammonium formate. Group III (8 females and 4 castrates) were fed the same basal diet with added 0.3 additive containing 0.15 tannin extracted from chestnut tree (Tanin Sevnica; Sevnica, Slovenia) and overall 0.15 of 4 acids (lactic acid, citric acid, orthophosphoric acid and L and R malic acid). The pigs were observed throughout the feeding trial and health status was recorded daily. The incidence of diarrhoea and consistency of faeces were recorded daily in order to detect changes in gastrointestinal functionStukelj et al. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2010, 52:19 http://www.Pemafibrate web actavetscand.com/content/52/1/Page 3 ofTable 1 Percentage composition and chemical content (g, mg and IU per kg of feed) of basal dietGroup I (basal diet) crude protein ( ) crude fat ( ) crude fibre ( ) ash ( ) lysine ( ) vitamin A (IU) vitamin D3 (IU) Vitamin E (mg) vitamin K3 (mg) Vitamin B1 (mg) Vitamin B2 (mg) Nicotine acid (mg) Calcium-D-panthotenat (mg) Vitamin B6 (mg) Vitamin B12 (mg) folic acid (mg) biotin (mg) Fe (mg) Cu (mg) Mn (mg) Zn (mg) Co (mg) J (mg) Se (g) Lignosulphonate (g) 15 3.8 4 5.2 0.8 6000 1000 40 1 1 3 2 15 2.5 40 0.5 0,1 80 50 35 70 0.4 1 0.35 7.Venous blood samples for the determination of complete blood count (CBC) and white cell differential count (WCDC) were collected PubMed ID:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28993237 into tubes with K3EDTA anticoagulant (Vacuette; Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmunster, Austria). Blood samples for determining antioxidant enzyme parameters in whole blood lysates were collected into tubes containing anticoagulant lithium heparin (Vacuette; Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmunster, Austria) and immediately stored at -80 until analysed.Biochemical analysesBiochemical profiles, which included determination of copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and total serum protein concentrations (protein), were determined using an automated biochemistry analyser Cobas Mira (Hoffman La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland).Haematological analysesCBC was determined immediately after collection with an automated haematological analyser (ABC Vet, Horiba ABX, Montpellier, France). WCDC was determined manually on the same day as CBC. CBC and WCDC included: red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin (Hgb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), haematocrit (Ht), white blood cells (WBC), platelets (Plt), neutrophils (Neut), eosinophils (Eos), basophils (Baso), lymphocytes (Lymph), band neutrophils (BN) and monocytes (Mono).Measurement of GPX activitythat could be related to the diet used. The pigs were weighed at the beginning and end of the three week feeding trial. Morbidity and mortality were recording in all three groups during the trial and growth performance parameter (average daily gain (ADG)) calculated at the end. All procedures were approved by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Veterinary Administration of the Republic of Sloveni.