EFFECTS OF YEAST-BASED NON-NUTRITIONAL ENHANCERS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF WEANLING PIGS

The study was conducted to determine the effects of yeast-based nonnutritional enhancers (mannoproteins, betaglucans and nucleotides) (YNE) on the growth performance of weanling pigs. Eighty crossbred weanling pigs (40 males and 40 females) with 7-8 kg initial weight were placed in groups of five pigs per pen and randomly distributed to four dietary treatments: 1) basal diet (BD) + 0% YNE; 2) BD+ 0.05% YNE; 3) BD + 0.15% YNE; and 4) BD + 0.30% YNE. The treatments were arranged following a randomized complete block design with sex of the animals as the blocking factor. The weanling pigs were fed with booster diet for five days and pre-starter diet for 25 days. Results showed that feed intake increased (P 0.05) among the treatments. Higher inclusion rate of YNE in the diet reduced the scouring incidence and increased the livability rate of weanling pigs. The addition of 0.30% YNE in the basal diet was the most practical to use among treatments. Keywords: betaglucans, mannoproteins, nucleotides, weanling pigs, yeast-based non-nutritional enhancer