| Summary: | The effects of dietary hydrolyzed Chinese gallnut tannic acid(GCT) as a replacement for ZnO were investigated on weaned piglets. A total of 72 weaned piglets at 31 ± 1 day (six replicate pens per treatment with six piglets per pen) were selected and divided randomly into two groups: a control group, with a basal diet of + 1600 mg/kg ZnO; and a treated group, with a basal diet of + 1899.5 mg/kg GCT. Data analysis showed that the significance of average daily gain and average daily feed intake between the two groups was <i>p</i> = 0.731 and <i>p</i> = 0.799, respectively. Compared with the control group, the diarrhea rate of piglets in the treated group underwent no noticeable change on days 0–7 (<i>p</i> = 0.383) and 7–14 (<i>p</i> = 0.263), but decreased significantly on days 14–21 (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Additionally, we found GCT can reduce the crypt depth of the ileum and improve its antioxidant capacity (<i>p</i> < 0.05). High throughput sequencing showed that GCT increased the richness of the bacteria <i>Lachnospiraceae</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.005), <i>Prevotella_2</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.046) and <i>Lactobacillus amylovorus</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.081), which are associated with the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose. The study indicated that 1899.5 mg/kg GCT could be an alternative for 1600 mg/kg ZnO in the diet of piglets.
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