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The effect of inulin and sugar beet fibre on Oesophagostomum dentatum infection in pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2003

S. PETKEVIČIUS
Affiliation:
Danish Centre for Experimental Parasitology, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Dyrlægevej 100, Frederiksberg C, DK-1870 Copenhagen, Denmark Veterinary Institute of Lithuanian Veterinary Academy, Instituto 2, LT-4230 Kaišiadorys, Lithuania
K. E. BACH KNUDSEN
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Research Centre Foulum, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
K. D. MURRELL
Affiliation:
Danish Centre for Experimental Parasitology, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Dyrlægevej 100, Frederiksberg C, DK-1870 Copenhagen, Denmark
H. WACHMANN
Affiliation:
Veterinary and Food Advisory Service, Danish Bacon and Meat Council, Axeltorv 3, DK-1609 Copenhagen V, Denmark
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Abstract

The present study was designed to assess the role of inulin and sugar beet fibres (SBF) on adult O. dentatum in growing pigs. Four experimental diets were formulated based on barley flour with added insoluble fibre from oat husk (Diet 1), a pure carbohydrate source inulin (Diet 2), soluble fibre from sugar beet fibre (SBF) with a high proportion of soluble fibre components (Diet 3) or inulin plus SBF (Diet 4). Thirty-two 10-week-old pigs were divided randomly into 4 groups each of 8 pigs. After 3 weeks adaptation on Diet 1 all pigs were infected with a single dose of 6000 L3O. dentatum. At week 7 p.i. one group was switched to Diet 2, another group to Diet 3 and another group to Diet 4. The remaining 8 pigs continued on Diet 1 until the end of the experiment and served as controls. At week 13, all pigs were necropsied and their worm burdens determined. The worm recoveries from the pigs on the inulin supplemented diet (Diet 2) were reduced by 97% compared to the controls (Diet 1). Further, the inulin-fed pigs exhibited markedly reduced faecal egg counts. The pigs on inulin plus SBF diet (Diet 4) and on SBF diet (Diet 3) had 86% and 70% adult worm reductions compared with the controls, respectively. The results from this study indicate that highly degradable and rapidly fermentable carbohydrates such as dietary inulin have a profound deworming effect on O. dentatum infection.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2003 Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Table 1. Composition of the plant material and chemical composition of the experimental diets

Figure 1

Table 2. Composition (g/kg dry matter or mmol/kg digesta) of digesta materials from the rectum of pigs fed Diets 1–4

Figure 2

Fig. 1. pH in caecum and colon of pigs fed experimental diets: oat hull meal (Diet 1), inulin (Diet 2), sugar beet fibre (Diet 3) and inulin plus sugar beet fibre (Diet 4). Sections of the large intestine: Ce, caecum; Co1, colon 0–20%; Co2, colon 21–40%; Co3, colon 41–60%; Co4&5, colon and rectum 61–100%.

Figure 3

Table 3. Geometric mean of Oesophagostomum dentatum egg counts at week 13 p.i.

Figure 4

Table 4. Geometric mean of Oesophagostomum dentatum worm burdens

Figure 5

Table 5. The effects of diet, sex and section on Oesophagostomum dentatum worm abundance