Availability of microelements in recently weaned piglets fed diet supplemented with inulin

The effects of inulin-supplemented diet on Cu, Mn, and Zn bioavailability in recently weaned piglets raised at an experimental and a commercial farm were studied. Piglets were weaned at 28 days of age, when all of them were fed a barley-wheat based starter diet supplemented with a usual vitamin-mineral premix for piglets. The reference diet group received additional 50 mg of zinc per kg diet, while the experimental inulin diet group was supplemented with 1.5% inulin (no additional zinc). Both diets, low in inorganic copper (provided only from forages), covered the demands for minerals of the growing piglets. Four piglets were sacrificed on days 28, 33, and 39 in each group at each farm and liver samples were collected and analyzed. The contents of Cu, Mn, and Zn were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The feeding experiments showed that the presence of inulin enhanced (P < 0.05) the biological availability of copper from the weaned piglets' diet despite its low content therein. No significant differences (P > 0.05) between experimental inulin diet group and reference diet group could be noticed for zinc and manganese concentrations in the liver. Biological availability of copper was higher in the piglets reared under high and standardized sanitary conditions than in those reared under commercial farm conditions (P < 0.05).