Abstract

DOMINGUEZ-VARA, Ignacio Arturo; GOMEZ-GALEANA, Adriana Emilia; PESCADOR-SALAS, Nazario  and  GONZALEZ-RONQUILLO, Manuel. In vitro caecal fermentation in Cuino Mexican and Hairless Mexican pigs supplemented with chromium. Ecosistemas y recur. agropecuarios [online]. 2017, vol.4, n.11, pp.349-357. ISSN 2007-901X.  https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a4n11.1116.

The Mexican hairless (MHP) and Mexican cuino (MCP) pigs are native to Mexico. Chromium (Cr) is an essential nutrient in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids, but its effect on pigs at the level of cecal fermentation is unknown. The objective was to evaluate the in vitro cecal fermentation and digestible nitrogen (N) in the intestine of the MHP and MCP, by adding Cr in the diet. Forty-eight sows with a live weight of 104±0.5 kg were slaughtered, 24 for each genotype, from which cecal and ileal contents were collected. The ileal content samples were incubated in vitro and the fermentation (ml gas g-1 DM) was evaluated at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36 h and the chemical composition. The experimental design was completely randomized with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. There were no differences between genotypes (P>0.1), the diet without Cr showed higher fermentation (P <0.001), and cumulative gas production (ml gas g-1 DM) showed no differences (P>0.1) due to genotype or diet effect. There were higher total N and N-NH3 contents in ileum for the MCP genotype (P<0.05). There were no differences (P> 0.05) in total N, N-NH3 and N amino acid contents at cecal level. It was concluded that MCP showed a higher content of total N and N-NH3 in ileum than MHP; dietary Cr did not influence the nitrogen content in the small and large intestines or in the microbial cecal fermentation of the pigs.

Keywords : Native pigs; in vitro gas production; digestible protein; chromium.