RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Weaning pigs normally suffer from many stressors which have impaired growth performance and immunity. Hydrolyzed yeast has been proposed as an alternative feed additive. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various levels of hydrolyzed yeast (HY) supplementation in the feed of weaning pigs on growth performance, diarrhea incidence, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and microbial populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 144 crossbred weaning pigs (Duroc × Landrace × Large White) with a mean body weight (BW) of 7.46 kg were randomly assigned to one of four treatments during a 5-week feeding trial. Treatments consisted of a basal diet without HY inclusion (control), or the basal diet supplemented with HY at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg of diet, respectively. RESULTS: Piglets fed with 1.0 or 1.5 g/kg HY presented significantly increased BW (p=0.009) and decreased incidence of diarrhea (p=0.001). The final BW (p=0.012), average daily gain (p=0.094), and average daily feed intake (p=0.091) showed a linear improvement with the level of HY inclusion. However, the gain-to-feed ratio was unaffected by dietary treatments. Linear responses to the HY supplementation levels were also observed for blood urea nitrogen (p=0.030), total protein (p=0.017), lymphocyte percentage (p=0.064), catalase activity (p=0.089), malondialdehyde (MDA) level (p=0.001), Salmonella spp. (p=0.024), Escherichia coli (p=0.021), and Lactobacillus spp. (p=0.048). Dietary inclusion of HY at 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg resulted in increased immunoglobulin A and G secretions (p=0.042 and p=0.022, respectively) and decreased MDA concentration (p<0.01) and Salmonella spp. (p=0.026) and E. coli (p=0.050). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that HY inclusion at 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg in the diet of weaning pigs improve BW, immunoglobulin secretion, and antioxidant enzyme activity, whereas it lowers diarrhea occurrence, lipid peroxidation, and pathogenic bacteria in weaning pigs.