Growing Tibetan Pigs Adapt to High-Fiber Diets by Enhancing Fiber Degradation Capacity

The systematic analysis of the synergistic mechanism between microbial fiber-degrading enzymes and short-chain fatty acids under high-fiber diet conditions is limited. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a high-fiber diet on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood and serum metrics, cellulase/hemicellulase activity, and fecal microbial composition of growing Tibetan pigs. Forty Tibetan pigs were allocated to a control group (CON, 5% crude fiber) or a high-fiber group (HF, 10% crude fiber) based on crude fiber levels as a blocking factor. The pre-trial period was 7 d, and the formal trial lasted 28 d. The HF group showed significantly higher fecal cellulase and hemicellulase activities than those of the CON group (P