The effect of dietary Echinacea purpurea on performance, viremia, and ontogeny of the humoral antibody response against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection was evaluated in weaned pigs. In three replicates, 120 weaned pigs (25 +/- 1 d of age; 8.46 +/- 0.48 kg of BW) from a PRRSV-naive herd were allotted randomly to one of eight pens (diets) in two separate rooms (four pens/room), with each pen containing five pigs. Pigs began one of four dietary treatments (as-fed basis) 1 wk before inoculation with PRRSV: 1) basal diet composed of corn, soybean meal, whey, and essential vitamins and minerals; 2) basal diet plus carbadox (0.055 g/kg of diet; as-fed basis); 3) basal diet plus Echinacea 2% (2% of the total diet); 4) basal diet plus Echinacea 4% (4% of the total diet). The diets were formulated to be isocaloric and isolysinic. Echinacea purpurea was purchased in powder form and determined by chemical analysis to contain 1.35% cichoric acid (as-fed basis). Seven days after starting the diets, all pigs in one room were intranasally inoculated with PRRSV isolate ATCC VR-2332 at a concentration of 10(4) tissue culture infectious dose50/mL. To monitor the effects of Echinacea and PRRSV challenge, BW and blood samples were obtained from all pigs at 7-d intervals. Serum samples were analyzed for the presence of PRRSV and PRRSV-specific antibodies. All challenged pigs became infected with PRRSV, and all unchallenged pigs remained free of infection. No differences (P > 0.10) in ADG, ADFI, or gain:feed (G:F) were observed in PRRSV-challenged compared with unchallenged animals. For PRRSV-challenged animals receiving diets supplemented with Echinacea at 2 or 4%, no differences (P > 0.10) were observed in ADG, ADFI, or G:F ratio. Among PRRSV-challenged pigs, dietary Echinacea did not affect (P > 0.10) the rate or level of the ELISA-detectable antibody response from d 7 to 42 or the level and duration of PRRSV in serum. For PRRSV-unchallenged animals receiving diets supplemented with Echinacea at 2 or 4%, no differences (P > 0.10) were observed in ADG, ADFI, and G:F ratio. Under the conditions of this study, dietary Echinacea did not enhance growth, exhibit antiviral effects to PRRSV, or show any evidence of immune enhancing properties.

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and Implications Botanicals have been proposed as a substitute for antimicrobials in swine diets because of their natural antibacterial activity. Peppermint, a botanical that grows in Iowa, was compared with a standard antibacterial nursery dietary regimen. Performance of pigs on all treatments was similar, including the positive and negative controls. At the tested inclusion levels (0, 0.5, 2.5, and 5.0%), no statistical advantage existed over the 5-week study when compared with a positive control diet with 50 g/ton Mecadox or with a negative control containing no antibacterial inclusions. Increasing levels of peppermint did not influence the muscle characteristics evaluated.

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