Benzoic acid in nursery diets increases the performance from weaning to finishing by reducing diarrhoea and improving the intestinal morphology of piglets inoculated with Escherichia coli K88⁺

Abstract

A total of 224 weaned pigs (DanBred sows x PIC 337 sires) with an average body weight (BW) of 6.37 ± 0.34 kg (21 days of age) were used to evaluate how different levels of benzoic acid fed to weaning pigs orally inoculated with Escherichia coli (K88 ) affected the nursing and grow-finishing performance, the physicochemical properties of the intestine, the volatile fatty acid concentration in the caecum and the incidence of diarrhoea. Pigs were randomly allocated in an experimental design of randomized blocks in a 4 × 2 factorial design, and they were administered four levels of benzoic acid (0.00%, 0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75%) and inoculated (or not) in two consecutive days with 1 ml solution containing 10 CFU/ml of E. coli (K88 ). Seven replicates (pens) per treatment were used, and four animals were kept per pen. Supplementation with 0.75% benzoic acid promoted better performance (p < 0.05) in the nursery phase as well as in the subsequent phases until slaughter, and it decreased the incidence of diarrhoea in piglets (p < 0.05). In the piglets fed the benzoic acid diet, the villus height in the jejunum and ileum was greater until 42 days of life (p < 0.05), the crypt depth was decreased in the caecum (p < 0.05), and the butyric acid concentration was increased in the caecal content tendencially (p = 0.0708). In conclusion, supplementation with 0.75% benzoic acid has a positive effect on piglets by reducing diarrhoea, improving intestinal health and promoting the performance from weaning to finishing. Thus, benzoic acid can be considered a potential alternative that can replace growth-promoting antibiotics.

Dietary Organic Acids Modulate Gut Microbiota and Improve Growth Performance of Nursery Pigs

“…Moreover, evidence suggested that benzoic acid increases digestive enzyme activity and improves jejunal and ileum morphology leading to greater nutrient digestibility in both poultry and swine [37,38]. This increase in nutrient uptake not only reduces nonpathogenic diarrhea, but also improves the growth performance of nursery pigs [39]. In order to determine the impact of benzoic acid alone or in combination with butyrate on nutrient digestibility, a negative control (basal diet) group was added at the University of Arkansas.…”

Nature-Identical Compounds and Organic Acids Reduce E. coli K88 Growth and Virulence Gene Expression In Vitro

“…Thymol, carvacrol, and eugenol were also tested (individually or as essential oils) in many previous studies which reported the positive effects of these bioactives against several E. coli strains both in vivo and in vitro [15,[31][32][33]. Moreover, several in vivo studies demonstrated the usefulness of OA in controlling PWD in orally challenged piglets [34][35][36][37].…”

Benzoic Acid Combined with Essential Oils Can Be an Alternative to the Use of Antibiotic Growth Promoters for Piglets Challenged with E. coli F4

“…The dose of inoculum used in this trial was based on a previous trial by our group [28], however, it was low if compared to other trials [35][36][37]. Nevertheless, the challenge seemed to be effective at increasing the diarrhea among the piglets as higher values were observed for the first period evaluated.…”

“…On the first experimental day, the piglets received an intramuscular dose (0.15 mL) of tulathromycin antibiotic (Draxxin ® , Zoetis, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ, USA), for the control of respiratory diseases. According to Silveira [28], this antibiotic acts mainly in the lungs, which could minimize any other factor that is not associated with enteric challenges.…”

“…All the piglets were challenged with two doses of Escherichia coli F4 inoculum (LT + , STa + , and STb + ), at a concentration of 10 6 CFU/mL. This dose was established in a previous trial by our team [28]. They received the 1 mL dose orally on the seventh and eighth days of the experiment.…”