(1) Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary xylanase addition on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, volatile fatty acids, and digesta viscosity at different digestive sites in weaned pigs fed wheat-soybean meal-based diets with reduced metabolizable energy. (2) Methods: A total of 312 weaned pigs (5.1 ± 0.9 kg, 20 ± 2 days of age) were assigned to one of six dietary treatments. The experimental diets were formulated in a three-phase nursery feeding program: phase 1 (d0-d7), phase 2 (d8-d21), and phase 3 (d22-d42). The experimental diets consisted of a wheat-soybean meal-based diet formulated to meet pig requirements (positive control, PC); the PC diet with a reduction of 100 kcal of metabolizable energy (ME) (negative control, NC); and the NC diet with either 900, 1800, 3600, or 7200 units of xylanase. Feed disappearance and body weight were measured at d7, 14, 21, and 42 in the nursery phase. The pen fecal score was assessed daily from d0 to d14 and three times a week from d15 to d28. On d21-d24 of the experiment (12 pigs per day), one pig per pen was selected for sample collection: ileal, cecal, and mid-colon digesta for viscosity and ileal digesta, feces for nutrient digestibility, and feces and cecal digesta for the measurement of volatile fatty acid. (3) Results: The addition of xylanase to the NC diets did not improve pig growth performance (body weight, feed conversion ratio, and average daily gain; p > 0.10) during the entire nursery phase. In Week 2 and Week 3, pigs fed xylanase had a lower (χ2 < 0.05) incidence of fecal scores 3 and 4 (diarrhea) than the PC and NC diets. In addition, the apparent total tract digestibility of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber increased linearly (p < 0.1) in response to xylanase addition. Xylanase addition (900 to 7200 U) decreased digesta viscosity in the colon compared to the PC and NC diets. Furthermore, xylanase addition resulted in a lower (p < 0.05) concentration of acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, and total volatile fatty acid in cecal samples compared to PC. The addition of xylanase resulted in greater acetic and valeric acid concentrations in cecal samples compared to the NC group (p < 0.10). (4) Conclusions: Xylanase addition can improve nutrient digestibility, particularly at the total tract level, and reduce viscosity in the hindgut, which could be related to decreasing the occurrence of looseness. However, its impact on growth performance was minimal in wheat-soybean meal-based diets with a reduction of 100 kcal of ME.
Keywords: digestibility; enzymes; fiber; intestinal health; nursery pigs; xylanases.