Effects of dietary supplementation of fermented Ginkgo biloba L. residues on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical parameters and immune function in weaned piglets.

This study evaluated the effects of fermented Ginkgo biloba L. residues (FGBLR) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical parameters and immune function in weaned piglets. Pigs were allotted to five dietary treatments, including negative control (NC: antibiotic free basal diet), positive control (PC) (NC + 30 mg apramycin/kg) and FGBLR-50, 100, 150 (NC + 50, 100, 150 g FGBLR/kg). Pigs in FGBLR-100 and PC treatments showed increased final body weight, average daily gain, gain:feed and apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, N and gross energy (P < 0.05) compared with NC, FGBLR-50 and FGBLR-150 treatments, In addition, pigs fed with FGBLR-100 diet showed higher serum total protein, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, glucose, hemoglobin, total iron, total iron binding capacity, superoxide dismutase and glutathione superoxide dismutase levels, and lower serum blood urea nitrogen, malondialdehyde, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels than those fed with PC and NC diets (P < 0.05). Moreover, feeding FGBLR-100 could increase levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA and IgM, as well as lymphocyte transformation rates, ratio of CD4+ to CD8+ cells and proportions of CD2+, CD4+, B, major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I and MHC-II cells, and can decrease proportion of CD8+ cells in blood of piglets compared with PC and NC groups (P < 0.05). These results indicate that dietary supplementation with 10% of FGBLR showed greatest beneficial effects on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, serum biochemical parameters and immune function in weaned piglets, which were superior to antibiotic supplemental diets.