Effect of dietary Auricularia cornea culture supplementation on growth performance, serum biochemistry profile and meat quality in growing-finishing pigs

Auricularia cornea culture (ACC) is a dried product containing Auricularia cornea (AC) mycelium and various metabolites of AC fermentation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary ACC supplementation on growth performance, short-chain fatty acid concentration in faeces, serum biochemical profile and meat quality in growing-finishing pigs. In total, 96 growing pigs with initial body weight 91.94 +/- 7.59 kg, were allotted to one of four dietary treatments for 45 days. Treatments were: basal diet and three experimental diets with 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2% ACC addition, respectively. It was shown that pigs fed ACC diets had a greater average daily gain (P < 0.05), and also lower glucose content in serum (P < 0.05). In comparison with control animals, in pigs fed diets with ACC an increased butyrate content (P < 0.05) in faeces and greater monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) mRNA expression (P < 0.05) in the colon were noted. There was also observed an increasing trend concerning a* value (P = 0.09) and the higher polyunsaturated fatty acid contents in longissimus dorsi muscle (P = 0.01). In conclusion, the dietary ACC addition could improve the growth and health of animals as well as meat quality to a certain degree. So, a 1.2% ACC supplementation can be recommended for growing-finishing pigs.