Effect of dietary supplementation of diacylglycerol on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood profiles in growing pigs fed corn-soybean-meal-based diet

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary supplementation of 1,2-diacylglycerol (1,2-DAG) and 1,3-diacylglycerol (1,3-DAG) as emulsifier in a corn-soybean-meal-based diet on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood characteristics in growing pigs. A total of 75 cross-bred [(Landrace x Yorkshire) x Duroc] growing pigs with an initial body weight (BW) of 24.27 +/- 1.58 kg were used in a 6 wk trial. Pigs were randomly allocated into one of three treatments according to their sex and BW (five replicates with two gilts and three barrows per replication pen). Treatments were as follows: (1) CON, basal diet; (2) TRT1, CON + 0.1% 1,2-DAG; and (3) TRT2, CON + 0.1% 1,3-DAG. The DAG diets trended to increase BW, average daily gain (ADG), and average daily feed intake (P < 0.10) compared with CON diet in growing pigs. Pigs fed with DAG diets had higher (P < 0.05) digestibility of dry matter and nitrogen compared with the CON diet. Dietary supplementation with 1,3-DAG diet increased (P < 0.05) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, and triglycerides concentration was decreased (P < 0.05) in the 1,2-DAG and 1,3-DAG diets. In conclusion, dietary DAG supplementation positively affected ADG, nutrient digestibility, and blood profiles in growing pigs, especially 1,3-DAG.