Effects of Tannins on Diarrhea and Growth of Weaned Piglets

Tannins, found in many plants, have traditionally been used to treat diarrhea in pigs, but few in vivo studies have evaluated their effects in piglets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of tannin supplementation on post-weaning diarrhea and the growth performance of weaned piglets. Eighty-one Duroc x (Landrace x Yorkshire) piglets were randomly allocated to treatment based on age and sex-balanced groups: 27 piglets for the control group with basal feed (CON) and 54 piglets for the treatment group with a supplementation of a 0.25-g tannin blend for every 1.0kg of the basal feed (TAN). At weaning, each piglet was individually identified by ear tag and had their diarrhea status evaluated for 30 days. Body weights were recorded at weaning (IBW) and at the end of the nursery period (FBW) to calculate the average daily gain (ADG). Diarrhea was evaluated by scoring fecal consistency twice per day. From this trial, the odds-ratio for the treatment and for IBW were 3.014 and 0.841, respectively, showing positive effects that the TAN treatment and increased IBW had on the diarrhea rate. Increasing the IBW by one kilogram led to a decrease in the diarrhea rate by 0.841 times. FBW and ADG in TAN were higher (P = 0.0089 and P = 0.0044, respectively) than those in CON. It was concluded that tannin supplementation at 0.25g per 1.0kg of feed reduces post-weaning diarrhea and improves ADG in weaned piglets. Higher body weight at weaning also lowers the incidence of diarrhea.