## 2 Materials and Methods
### Animals and Housing  
In this study, 140 pigs of mixed breed [Duroc \(\times\) (Landrace \(\times\) Yorkshire)], with an initial average body weight (BW) of 26.05 \(\pm\) 1.32 kg, were distributed across four dietary groups. The allocation followed a complete randomization-within-blocks design based on sex (2 barrows and 3 gilts), with each pen containing five pigs and a total of seven replicates for each treatment. The diets used in this trial were developed to meet or surpass the nutritional needs specified by the NRC [12] for growing-finishing pigs (as detailed in Table 2). A fraction of dietary corn and soybean meal was replaced with VBP, with 0, 10, 20, and 30 g/kg (as-fed basis) inclusion levels for the CON, VBP10, VBP20, and VBP30 dietary groups, respectively. In the present study, the VBP dosages were initially established as part of an initial evaluation. These dietary regimens were administered during three distinct phases: 0-4 weeks (phase I), 4-8 weeks (phase II), and 8-13 weeks (phase III). The pigs were accommodated in a controlled environment within a room equipped with plastic-slatted flooring and a mechanical ventilation system. Each enclosure, measuring 1.8 \(\times\) 1.8 m, was equipped with a self-feeding system and nipple drinkers, ensuring free access to both feed and water throughout the duration of the study. An automated mechanical ventilation system was employed, which was programmed to deliver 12 h of artificial lighting daily. The environmental temperature in the room was maintained at around 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C and gradually decreased by 1 \({}^{\circ}\)C per week. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Items**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Growing Diet**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Finishing Diet**} \\ \cline{2-9}  & **CON** & **VBP10** & **VBP20** & **VBP30** & **CON** & **VBP10** & **VBP20** & **VBP30** \\ \hline \multicolumn{9}{c}{Ingredients, g/kg} \\ Corn & 561.9 & 557.9 & 554.3 & 550.6 & 595.1 & 591.2 & 586.7 & 582.7 \\ Wheat & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 60.0 & 60.0 & 60.0 & 60.0 \\ Soybean meal & 142.4 & 137.0 & 131.2 & 125.4 & 92.5 & 87.3 & 82.3 & 77.2 \\ Palm kernel meal & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 \\ Repessed meal & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 \\ DDGS & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 & 50.0 \\ Tallow & 45.0 & 44.4 & 43.8 & 43.2 & 36.5 & 35.6 & 35.0 & 34.2 \\ Molasses & 20.0 & 20.0 & 20.0 & 20.0 & 40.0 & 40.0 & 40.0 & 40.0 \\ Dicalcium Phosphate & 13.0 & 12.5 & 12.0 & 11.3 & 10.5 & 9.7 & 9.7 & 9.3 \\ Limestone & 7.5 & 7.8 & 8.1 & 8.6 & 6.3 & 6.9 & 6.9 & 7.0 \\ Salt & 3.0 & 3.0 & 3.0 & 3.0 & 3.0 & 3.0 & 3.0 & 3.0 \\ Methionine (99\%) & 0.4 & 0.5 & 0.5 & 0.6 & 0.1 & 0.2 & 0.2 & 0.2 \\ Lysine (78\%) & 3.3 & 3.4 & 3.6 & 3.8 & 2.7 & 2.8 & 2.9 & 3.1 \\ VBP & - & 10.0 & 20.0 & 30.0 & - & 10.0 & 20.0 & 30.0 \\ Vitamin premix 2 & 2.0 & 2.0 & 2.0 & 2.0 & 2.0 & 2.0 & 2.0 & 2.0 \\ Mineral premix 3 & 1.0 & 1.0 & 1.0 & 1.0 & 1.0 & 1.0 & 1.0 & 1.0 \\ Choline (25\%) & 0.5 & 0.5 & 0.5 & 0.5 & 0.3 & 0.3 & 0.3 & 0.3 \\ Total & 1000 & 1000 & 1000 & 1000 & 1000 & 1000 & 1000 & 1000 \\ \multicolumn{9}{c}{Calculated composition, g/kg} \\ Metabolic energy, & 3330 & 3330 & 3330 & 3330 & 3260 & 3260 & 3260 & 3260 \\ Kcal/kg & 155.0 & 155.0 & 155.0 & 155.0 & 140.0 & 140.0 & 140.0 & 140.0 \\ Crude fat & 72.6 & 73.0 & 73.4 & 73.8 & 64.6 & 64.7 & 65.1 & 65.3 \\ Lysine & 9.5 & 9.5 & 9.5 & 9.5 & 8.0 & 8.0 & 8.0 & 8.0 \\ Calcium & 7.0 & 7.0 & 7.0 & 7.0 & 6.0 & 6.0 & 6.0 & 6.0 \\ Total phosphorus & 6.0 & 6.0 & 6.0 & 6.0 & 5.5 & 5.5 & 5.5 & 5.5 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* The diets used in this trial were developed to meet or surpass the nutritional needs specified by the NRC [12] for growing-finishing pigs NRC [12]. 1 Abbreviation: DDGS, distillers dried grains with solubles; VBP, by-products obtained after the extraction of vitamin B\({}_{2}\) from fermented soybean. 23 Provided per kilogram of complete diet were followed by [PERSON] et al., [13].  
\end{table}