The Impact of Replacing Partial Zinc Oxide with Different Formulations of Tannin Products on the Growth Performance of Weaned Piglets
Release date:
2025-08-01
| Since the successful implementation of the antibiotic ban in 2020, there has been a growing call to eliminate high-dose zinc oxide from animal feed. As a result, identifying green, safe, anti-diarrheal, and growth-promoting alternatives to zinc oxide has become an urgent issue for commercial feed companies to address. In recent years, increasing research has revealed that adding specific doses of tannins to feed not only effectively controls animal diarrhea but also enhances nutrient absorption, boosts stress resistance, and strengthens immune systems—ultimately supporting healthier animal growth. Consequently, tannins have emerged as a standout solution in antibiotic replacement strategies, delivering remarkable results and earning widespread recognition among manufacturers as a leading contender to replace zinc oxide. However, the inherent characteristics of tannins themselves currently pose limitations to their broader adoption in feed formulations. "Anchangfen M40," developed by Guangdong Nan Kun Biotechnology Co., Ltd., addresses this challenge by leveraging high-quality tannin ingredients sourced from overseas and employing cutting-edge encapsulation technology. This innovative approach ensures that the product retains excellent palatability while allowing for controlled release: it remains stable in the early stages of digestion but gradually releases its active components in the later sections of the intestinal tract. By doing so, "Anchangfen M40" helps soothe damaged areas of the gut, significantly reducing diarrhea incidence and ultimately improving overall animal performance. |
This experiment used weaned piglets as the research subjects, with the following objectives: ① to investigate how replacing part of the zinc oxide in weaned piglets' diets with tannin products affects their growth performance; ② to compare the effectiveness of coated versus powdered tannins.
Materials and Methods
Experimental Design and Grouping
Table 1: Experimental Design
Group Category | Levels of addition in the basal diet |
Control group | 2000 g/t conventional zinc oxide |
Trial Group 1 | 1000 g/t Anchangfen M40 + 1000 g/t conventional zinc oxide |
Trial Group 2 | 1000g of Yolephen P75t + 1000g/t of conventional zinc oxide |
Note: Anchangfen M40: Coated with natural plant tannins, with an effective tannin content of ≥40%; Yolephen P75: Natural plant tannin raw material, with an effective tannin content of ≥75%.
Select 90 healthy, age-matched weaned piglets and randomly divide them into 3 treatment groups, with 3 replicates per group, each replicate consisting of 10 piglets. According to the experimental design (see Table 1), each group will be fed the corresponding experimental diet over a 19-day period. Piglets in each group will be weighed before and after the trial.
Test location and time: The trial was conducted at the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences' experimental pig farm from May 12, 2023, to May 31, 2023—totaling 19 days.
Experimental diet
Table 2: Experimental Diet Formulation and Nutritional Composition
Ingredient Composition | Percentage % | Nutritional value | Content |
Corn | 37.79 | Digestible Energy ((kcal/kg)) | 3390 |
Puffed corn | 27.00 | Crude Protein (%) | 18.0% |
Whey powder | 5.00 | Calcium (%) | 0.80% |
Fermented soybean meal | 8.00 | Available Phosphorus (%) | 0.39% |
46% Soybean Meal | 14.00 | Lysine (%) | 1.45% |
Fishmeal | 3.00 | Egg + Cystine (%) | 0.85% |
Acidifier | 0.50 | Threonine (%) | 0.91% |
Lysine | 0.30 | Tryptophan (%) | 0.25% |
Methionine | 0.20 |
|
|
Tryptophan | 0.01 |
|
|
Premix | 4.00 |
|
|
Total | 99.80 |
|
Test indicator measurement: Daily record the feed intake, number and weight of dead or culled pigs, and calculate the average daily gain, daily feed consumption, feed-to-meat ratio, as well as mortality and diarrhea rates for each phase of the trial.
Results and Analysis
Table 4: Effects of Different Types of Tannin Products on Growth Performance in Weaned Piglets
Project | 2000g Zn0 | 1000g Anchangfen +1000g Zn0 | 1000g P75 +1000g Zn0 |
Initial weight (kg) | 7.78 ± 0.37 | 7.78 ± 0.30 | 7.79 ± 0.11 |
Final weight (kg) | 13.03 ± 0.97b | 14.88 ± 0.44a | 12.88 ± 0.38b |
Total Weight Gain (kg) | 5.35 ± 0.80b | 7.10 ± 0.34a | 5.09 ± 0.39b |
Average daily weight gain (g) | 282 ± 42b | 374 ± 18a | 268 ± 19b |
Total feed intake (kg) | 10.52 ± 1.36 | 10.46 ± 0.46 | 9.67 ± 0.73 |
Average daily feed intake (g) | 553 ± 71 | 551 ± 24 | 509 ± 39 |
Feed-to-meat ratio | 1.92 ± 0.004b | 1.48 ± 0.007a | 1.90 ± 0.002b |
Diarrhea Rate (%) | 3.97 | 2.78 | 6.75 |
Stool score | 1.06 | 1 | 1.25 |
Note: Data in the same column with identical letters indicate no significant difference. P >0.05), different lowercase letters indicate significant differences P <0.05); same applies to the table below.
Results indicate that, in the basal diet during the weaning phase, adding 1000 g/t Anchangfen M40 combined with 1000 g/t ZnO significantly improved weight gain, optimized feed-to-gain ratio, and reduced diarrhea rates, leading to a marked enhancement in the production performance of weaned piglets. In contrast, the addition of 1000 g/t Youlefen P75 along with 1000 g/t ZnO had only a modest impact. Thus, encapsulated tannins can effectively replace part of the zinc oxide, significantly boosting weaned piglets' growth, improving feed efficiency, and reducing diarrhea incidence. Moreover, encapsulated tannins demonstrated superior efficacy on piglet performance compared to non-encapsulated, raw tannin powder.
Summary
| Under the conditions of this trial, adding 1000 g/t Anchangfen M40 plus 1000 g/t ZnO to the weaned piglets' basal diet effectively replaced the conventional 2000 g/t zinc oxide, while also further enhancing weight gain, improving feed-to-gain ratio, reducing diarrhea incidence, and significantly boosting the overall production performance of weaned piglets. In contrast, supplementing with 1000 g/t Youlefen P75 combined with 1000 g/t ZnO had only a slight impact on the piglets' performance. This experiment demonstrates that coated tannins outperform uncoated, raw tannin powder in improving piglet performance. |
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