Abstract:

【Objective】 The study was conducted to observe the effects of chitosan-copper(CS-Cu) on growth performance, intestinal flora and its morphology of piglets. 【Method】 One hundred and twenty Duroc×Landraee×Yorkshire piglets (average BW of 7.8 ± 0.2 kg) were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups and fed with basic diet or basic diet supplemented with 50 mg?kg-1 CS-Cu, 100 mg/kg CS-Cu and 200 mg?kg-1 CuSO4, respectively. The experiment lasted 30 days.【Result】 The average daily gain (ADG) of the CS-Cu groups and 200 mg?kg-1 CuSO4 group significantly increased (P＜0.05) and the feed gain ratio (F/G) significantly decreased (P＜0.05) comparing with the control group. The salmonella population and E. coli population in CS-Cu groups were lower than those of the control group (P＜0.05), and lactobacillus population was higher than that of the control group (P＜0.05). And the 100 mg?kg-1 CS-Cu group had an obvious increase in the jejunal villous height(P＜0.05) and a significant reduction in the intestine erypt depth(P＜0.05) compared with the 200 mg?kg-1 CuSO4 group. 【Conclusion】 The results indicated that efficiency of 100 mg?kg-1 CS-Cu group was similar as 200 mg?kg-1 CuSO4 group, the addition of CS-Cu could modulate the micro-ecology balance and improve the intestinal morphology. And the diarrhea rate of the CS-Cu groups was obviously lower than that of the CuSO4 group.

Key words: CS-Cu, growth performance, intestinal flora, intestinal morphology, weanling piglets