Effects of benzoic acid, essential oils andEnterococcus faeciumSF68 on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, faecal microbiota and faecal noxious gas emission in weanling pigs

Abstract

A total of 150 weanling pigs (body weight of 8.86 ± 0.93 kg) were used in a 42-day trial to evaluate the efficacy of benzoic acid (BA), essential oils (EO) and Enterococcus faecium SF68. Pigs were randomly distributed into five treatments (six replicates and five pigs per pen): CON, control diet; B5E, CON + 0.5% BA + 0.01% EO; B5SF, CON + 0.5% BA + 7 × 10 8 CFU/kg E. faecium; B3E, CON + 0.3% BA + 0.01% EO; B3SF, CON + 0.3% BA + 7 × 10 8 CFU/ kg E. faecium. During d 8-21 and overall, pigs fed B5E diets showed greater (P < 0.05) average daily gain and gain/feed ratio than CON. The dry matter digestibility in pigs fed B5E diet was increased (P < 0.05) compared with CON at d 21, while the nitrogen digestibility in B5E, B5SF and B3E was increased (P < 0.01) compared with CON. Faecal Lactobacillus counts were increased in B5E, whereas E. coli counts were decreased in B5E and B5SF (P < 0.01) compared with CON. All the supplementation treatments decreased (P < 0.05) the faecal NH 3 , total mercaptans and H 2 S emission. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of 0.5% BA plus 0.01% EO and 7 × 10 8 CFU E. faecium/kg of diet could improve growth performance, decrease faecal E. coli counts, while 0.3% BA combination with EO or E. faecium almost had no effect on the parameters except the decreased faecal noxious gas contents.

Effects of a blend of organic acids and medium-chain fatty acids with and without Enterococcus faecium on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, and meat quality in finishing pigs

“…In a similar study, with weanling piglets, Mohana Devi and observed that the ATTD of DM and N were increased by supplementation with a combination of MCFAs (caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, and lauric acid) and E. faecium DSM 7134 compared with control diet or diets supplemented with MCFAs or E. faecium DSM 7134 alone. Zhang et al (2016) also demonstrated that a combination of benzoic acid and E. faecium SF68 had positive effect on ATTD of N. In the present study, the increased ATTD of DM and N may be a possible reason for the improvement in growth performance in pigs fed diets supplemented with E. faecium DSM 7134 and the blend of OAs and MCFAs. Supplementation with OAs may reduce gut pH (de Lange et al 2010).…”

Mannan-oligosaccharide and organic acids for weaned piglets

“…No animal was removed from the study because of disease, which could reflect a good health condition in the environment and high health status, which does not allow us to conclude on any additive effect in relation to diarrhoea incidence. These results agree with previous studies in which additive supplementation, such as organic acids (BOAS et al, 2016;ZHANG et al, 2016), manan-oligosaccharides (CHE et al, 2012), or a combination of these (CORASSA et al, 2012), did not influence faecal scores in weaned piglets.…”

“…The low growth performance observed in this phase is directly related to the occurrence of gastrointestinal disorders, mainly diarrhoea caused by pathogenic bacteria (ADEWOLE et al, 2016). Thus, dietary additives such as organic acids (BOAS et al, 2016;DEVI et al, 2016;ZHANG et al, 2016) and mannan-oligosaccharides (FESSELE; LINDHORST, 2013;GIANNENAS et al, 2016;WENNER et al, 2013) have been used to increase growth performance, decrease diarrhoea mortality, and modify the intestinal environment of pigs after weaning.…”

Feed additives can differentially modulate NF-κB (RelA/p65), IGF-1, GLUT2, and SGLT1 gene expression in porcine jejunal explants

“…According to Tan et al (2015) the use of oregano essential oil improved performance of their piglets through reducing oxidative stress. Benzoic acid has the capacity to increase the digestibility of the diet and, consequently, improve the performance of weaned piglets (Zhang et al, 2016). In this way, all these additives have beneficial effects over the performance of piglets; however, the mode of action should be better understood.…”