Effect of dandelion powder on growth performance, nutrient apparent digestibility and immune function of piglets.

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of dandelion powder on growth performance, nutrient apparent digestibility and immune function of weaned piglets. A total of two hundred 28-day-old piglets weighing about 7.5 kg were randomly divided into five groups, with four replicates in each group and 10 piglets in each replicate. Piglets in control group, group 1, group 2, group 3 and group 4 were fed corn-soybean meal diet containing 0, 250, 500, 1 000 and 2 000 mg/kg dandelion powder, respectively. The test period was 28 d. The results showed that compared with control group, the final weight of piglets in dandelion powder group was significantly increased ( P<0.05). The average daily gain of piglets in group 2, group 3 and group 4 was significantly increased (P<0.05), feed to gain ratio was significantly decreased ( P<0.05), the diarrhea rate was significantly decreased (P<0.05). The diarrhea rate of piglets in group 3 and group 4 was significantly lower than that in group 2 and group 1 (P<0.05). The apparent digestibility of organic matter, dry matter in group 2, group 3 and group 4 were significantly higher than those in control group and group 1 (P<0.05). The apparent digestibility of dry matter in group 3 was significantly higher than that in group 2 (P<0.05). The content of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M and the levels of interleukin-4 and interleukin-10 in group 2, group 3 and group 4 were significantly higher than those in control group (P<0.05), while the level of tumor necrosis factor-α was significantly decreased (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that adding a certain level of dandelion powder in feed of weaned piglets can improve growth performance of piglets, reduce the incidence of diarrhea, promote the body's digestion and absorption of nutrients, enhance the humoral and cellular immune function. Considering the comprehensive cost of breeding, the suitable supplemental level of dandelion powder is 1 000 mg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]