Effects of Resveratrol and Essential Oils on Growth Performance, Immunity, Digestibility and Fecal Microbial Shedding in Challenged Piglets

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of resveratrol and essential oils from medicinal plants on the growth performance, immunity, digestibility, and fecal microbial shedding of weaned piglets. A total of 48 weaned piglets (8 kg initial weight, 28-d-old) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments with 3 replications of 4 piglets each. The dietary treatments were NC (negative control; basal diet), PC (positive control; basal diet+0.002% apramycin), T1 (basal diet+0.2% resveratrol), and T2 (basal diet+0.0125% essential oil blend). All piglets were orally challenged with 5 ml culture fluid containing 2.3×108 cfu/ml of Escherichia coli KCTC 2571 and 5.9×108 cfu/ml Salmonella enterica serover Typhimurium. The PC group (p<0.05) showed the highest average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) throughout the experimental period, although feed conversion ratio (FCR) was improved in the T1 group (p>0.05). Serum IgG level was increased in the T1 group, whereas TNF-α levels was reduced in the supplemented groups compared to control (p<0.05). The PC diet improved the dry matter (DM) digestibility, whereas PC and T2 diets improved nitrogen (N) digestibility compared to NC and T1 diets (p<0.05). Fecal Salmonella and E. coli counts were reduced in all treatment groups compared to control (p<0.05). Fecal Lactobacillus spp. count was increased in the T2 group compared to others (p<0.05). Dietary treatments had no significant effect on fecal Bacillus spp. count throughout the entire experimental period. Based on these results, resveratrol showed strong potential as antibiotic alternatives for reversing the adverse effects of weaning stress on growth performance, immunity and microbial environment in E. coli and Salmonella-challenged piglets.

Effects of clove powder supplementation on performance, blood biochemistry, and immune responses in broiler chickens

“…On the other hand, the exact mechanism by which clove and other phytogenic feed additives stimulate the immune responses in chickens and other animals is mostly unknown (Nimmerjahn & Ravetch, 2010). It is possible that clove and other herbs act as additional bonds with immunoglobulin molecules at the Fc receptors, which stimulate the immune response (Ahmed et al, 2013). In contrast to the results of this study, Najafi & Torki (2010) noted that antibodies against NDV did not differ significantly in broiler chickens fed a diet supplemented with 200 mg/kg of clove oil for 42 days.…”

Evaluation of Lactobacillus and Bacillus-based probiotics as alternatives to antibiotics in enteric microbial challenged weaned piglets

“…The dietary groups included: basal diet without any supplement (NC; negative control), basal diet added with 0.002% apramycin (PC; positive control), basal diet added with 0.5% Lactobacillus-based probiotic (P1), and basal diet added with 0.04% Bacilli-based probiotic (P2). The dose levels of antibiotic and probiotics used in this experiment were determined in accordance with previous research (Ahmed et al, 2013;Harper et al, 1983;Gracia et al, 2004). The antibiotic and probiotic products were mixed on a weight:weight ratio basis by replacing an equal amount of basal diet.…”

Effect of dietary supplementation with resveratrol on nutrient digestibility, methanogenesis and ruminal microbial flora in sheep

“…Phenolic compounds are receiving increasing attention because of their antimicrobial properties (Landete, ). Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol predominantly observed in grapes and berries (Ahmed et al., ), which was initially characterized as a phytoalexin synthesized by plants in response to infection (Langcake and Pryce, ). Resveratrol inhibits a wide array of bacteria (Jung et al., ) and protozoa (Leiro et al., ; Mallo et al., ).…”