LAUSR

Abstract The study was aimed at determining the effect of zinc (Zn) sources combined with potato fiber (PF) on growth and health status of young pigs during a four-week trial. Owing to the chemical nature of PF and its bioactivity in the gut, it was hypothesized that it may modify the effect of Zn supplements. Twenty four piglets of initial body weight 10.8 ± 0.82 kg were allocated to 4 dietary treatments (n = 6) arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design: 1.7% lignocellulose (LC) and 0.033% ZnSO4, 1.7% LC and 0.046% Zn glycinate (ZnGly), 5% PF and 0.033% ZnSO4, and 5% PF and 0.046% ZnGly. LC and PF provided 10 g crude fiber/kg diet, whereas ZnSO4 and ZnGly provided 120 mg Zn/kg diet. ZnGly increased average daily feed intake (1.00 vs. 0.84 kg; P = 0.016), average daily gain (0.88 vs. 0.71 kg; P = 0.014) and apparent total tract digestibility of starch (97.4 vs. 97.0%; P = 0.006) and cellulose (48 vs. 40%; P = 0.003), but decreased that of crude ash (49 vs. 53%; P = 0.004), Zn (30 vs. 34%; P = 0.043) and sugars (94 vs. 97%; P