Effects of dietary supplementation of natural and fermented herbs on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, meat quality and fatty acid composition in growing-finishing pigs

Abstract

The present experiment was conducted to determine effects of herbs (Artemisia capillaris and Acanthopanax senticosus) in natural and fermented forms on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, meat quality and fatty acid composition in growing-finishing pigs. A total of 96 pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] with an average initial body weight (BW) of 25.46 ± 1.07 kg were randomly allotted into one of three dietary treatments. The dietary treatments included: (1) CON (basal diet), (2) NH (basal diet +0.05% natural herbs) and (3) FH (basal diet +0.05% fermented herbs). Pigs fed NH and FH diets had greater final BW than those fed CON diet (p