Effects of essential oils from fennel (Foeniculi aetheroleum) and caraway (Carvi aetheroleum) in pigs

Abstract

The ban of antibiotics as a feed additive requires alternatives to stabilize the health and performance particularly of the young animals. Essential oils obtained from fennel seed (Foeniculi aetheroleum) and caraway seed (Carvi aetheroleum) were tested in diets for weaned piglets in comparison with either a diet without feed additive or with a combination of formic acid and copper (positive control). Four groups of sixteen piglets (live weight 7 kg, age 26 days) received diets without (1) or with supplements of 7.5 g formic acid + 160 mg Cu/kg (2), 100 mg fennel oil/kg (3) or 100 mg caraway oil/kg (4) during 3 weeks after weaning. In the subsequent 4 weeks, all piglets were fed a diet without these additions. Fennel oil contained almost 2/3 anethol, approximately 1/5 fenchon and the remaining part consisting of alpha + beta-pinen, limonen (p-mentha-1,8-dien) and estragol. In the caraway oil, half of the contents was represented by limonen and the other half by carvon. There were no piglet losses and only few cases of diarrhoea. The combination of formic acid and copper increased feed consumption by 27% and daily weight gain by 25%. There were no differences in the performance between the group fed fennel oil and the control without additives. Piglets fed caraway oil tended to consume less feed and to gain approximately 10% less. In feed choice experiments, pigs consumed the same two diets from two troughs with 50% of total feed amount, as expected. The diets containing fennel or caraway oils were consumed at less than 50%. If the diet contained 100 mg fennel oil/kg, the decrease of percentual feed intake was significant. The results of the feeding experiment and of the feed choice experiment question the classification of fennel and caraway oils as flavour additives or as 'appetite promoters' in diets for weaned piglets.

The effect of savory (<i>Satureja khuzistanica</i>) essential oils on performance, liver and kidney functions in broiler chickens

“…No data were found in the literature at hand on the possible effects of adding EOSk to drinking water in farm animals. Doserelated depression of palatability was reported in pigs fed essential oils from fennel and caraway, as well as from the herbs thyme and oregano (Schöne et al, 2006). Lee et al (2003) reported that inclusion of 0.2 g · kg -1 carvacrol in broiler diets resulted in a 2% increase in feed intake and average daily gain and a 1% decrease in FCR.…”

Feed additives for swine: Fact sheets – prebiotics and probiotics, and phytogenics (2010)

“…Other studies reported decreased feed intake with increasing inclusion levels of the phytogenic substance used. 4,7 The addition of phytogenic feed additives to pig diets may not affect feed intake in some instances 8,9 and even resulted in better feed effi ciency in one study. 8 Increased palatability of the diets associated with the addition of phytogenics also may be due to their anti-oxidative effects, 10 which might contribute to preserving the desired organoleptic qualities of the diet.…”

“…6 Organisms commonly used include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococci faecium, Bacillus species, Bifi dobacterium bifi dum, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 7 As feed additives, they are supplemented in diets to improve the balance of bacteria in the gut. To be effective, a probiotic must have the following traits: 8…”

Food preferences and aversions in human health and nutrition: how can pigs help the biomedical research?

“…Two methodologies exist in the feed choice tests: a one-way test in which various diets are alternatively presented, and the 'multiple-way choice test' in which two or more diets are presented simultaneously in a free-choice situation (e.g. Schö ne et al, 2006;Guillemet et al, 2007;Sola-Oriol et al, 2009). In the free-choice situation, the result does not predict the behaviour in a practical situation in which a unique food is usually supplied, whereas the oneway test allows the analysis of feeding preference, but at the same time limits the influence of alternate food resources Figure 4 Examples of the experimental cages and operating devices used to investigate the feeding behaviour and motivation in pigs.…”

“…growth of growing pigs : Campbell, 1976;King, 1979;Lawlor et al, 2003;Edge et al, 2005;Schö ne et al, 2006;Langendijk et al, 2007;Sola-Oriol et al, 2009;or reproductive sows: Bergeron et al, 2000;Robert et al, 2002;Guillemet et al, 2006 and. Just like weaning pigs, reproductive sows have to cope with changes in their physical and social environment and modifications in their diet throughout their breeding cycle.…”