Improvement of the digestion in pigs by using microencapsulated asperase

Asperase from Aspergillus usamii mut. shiro-usamii was microencapsulated by the spray-dry method in order to decrease fecal quantity and improve the d igestion of pigs. Capsules were prepared with a yield of about 88% and a me an particle diameter of 10-20 mu m. The microencapsulated asperase was very resistant to digestion in the gastric environment (pH 1.2), and the effici ency of release in intestinal fluids (pH 6.8) was about 100% within 30min. A feeding study of 100-d-old pigs was performed to confirm the decrease of the fecal amount and the improvement in digestion due to microencapsulated asperase. Tn a group fed the diet that contained microencapsulated asperase , a significant reduction of 43% in the fecal quantity was observed (p < 0. 01 vs, control). In addition, when pigs were fed the microencapsulated aspe rase, apparent digestion coefficients of dry matter,crude protein, nitrogen -free extract, ether extract, and crude fiber were observed a significant a ugmentation of 5.4%, 12.8%, 1.2%, 17.8%, and 13.1%, respectively, compared with those in the group of pigs fed the standard diet. These results sugges t that the addition of microencapsulated asperase is the primacy cause of d ecreased fecal amount and improved digestibility.