Effects of dietary supplementation of Alfalfa (Medicago Sattva) fibre on the blood biochemistry, nitrogen metabolism, and intestinal morphometry in weaning piglets

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a high-yielding perennial legume, cultivated worldwide with rich nutritional characteristics, and active compounds. A total of 48 crossbred (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) piglets weaned at 28 days old with an average body weight of 8.42 ± 1.88 kg was used in this study. The results indicated that the supplementation of 6-12% alfalfa fibre significantly (P < 0.05) increased the growth performance. The digestibility of crude protein (CP) increased at higher dietary alfalfa fibre concentrations. The crude fibre (CF) and dry matter (DM) levels increased first and then decrease at higher alfalfa fibre concentration. The inclusion of alfalfa fibre increased the nitrogen (N) metabolism through increasing N digestibility and utilization and decrease fecal and urinary N content. In addition, the supplementation of alfalfa fibre increased the albumin, globulins, and total protein levels. However, dietary alfalfa fibre decreased blood glucose levels, cholesterol, triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase. There was a significant increase in the villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), and villus height to crypt depth (VH-CD) ratio after introducing alfalfa fibre in the diet. Therefore, the inclusion of alfalfa fibre to piglet’s diet is significant in improving the production performance and health in piglets.