Immune Response of Piglets Receiving Mixture of Formic and Propionic Acid Alone or with Either Capric Acid or Bacillus Licheniformis after Escherichia coli Challenge

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate whether diets containing mixture of formic and propionic acid alone or supplemented with either capric acid or Bacillus Licheniformis can alleviate immune inflammatory response of piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). A total of 30 weaning pigs were assigned to 5 diets, without additive (CON), with antibiotics (ATB), with 1% organic acid (OA; 64% formic and 25% propionic acid), with OA plus 0.2% capric acid (OA + CRA), and with OA plus 0.02% probiotic (Bacillus Licheniformis; OA + PB). After oral challenge with ETEC on day 10, the feces and plasma of all pigs were collected at different time points. Four additive treatments all decreased rectal temperature (RT) at 9 h and fecal scores (FS) at 24 h after challenge (P < 0.05), while at 9 h after challenge, inclusion of OA induced a decrease of RT compared with OA + CRA and OA + PB (P < 0.05). In plasma, concentration of interleukin (IL)-1β was reduced with the addition of ATB and OA at 24 h and 48 h after challenge and it is lower in OA group than OA + CRA group at 24 h after challenge (P < 0.05). Diets with ATB, OA, and OA + PB caused a decrease of the concentrations of IL-6 in plasma at 9 h after challenge (P < 0.05). The four additives treated piglets showed decreased concentrations of plasma tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ at 9 h and 24 h after challenge, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, OA supplementation alleviated the inflammatory response and reduced diarrhea incidence in piglets challenged with ETEC. However, no further improvements were observed when OA supplemented with CRA or probiotics.

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.…”

Anethole Attenuates Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-Induced Intestinal Barrier Disruption and Intestinal Inflammation via Modification of TLR Signaling and Intestinal Microbiota

“…Escherichia coli K88 (CVCC225) was purchased from the Chinese Veterinary Medicine Collection Center, and it was confirmed to have heat labile enterotoxin (LT), heat stable enterotoxin (ST), and F4 fimbriae in our laboratory ( Ren et al, 2019 ). On day 12, piglets from the ETEC, ATB, and AN group orally challenged with 10 mL nutrient broth (NB) containing 5 × 10 9 CFU/mL ETEC K88 via a syringe, CON group orally injected with 10 mL of sterilized NB.…”

Towards Zero Zinc Oxide: Feeding Strategies to Manage Post-Weaning Diarrhea in Piglets

“…A few studies in piglets experimentally challenged with E. coli F4 demonstrated that mixtures of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) can decrease diarrhea severity, improve growth performance, and reduce fecal E. coli counts [130,164]. Moreover, it was also demonstrated that a complex of SCFA with capric acid (a medium chain fatty acid) can significantly alleviate the inflammatory response in piglets challenged with E. coli F4 [165], remarkably reducing TNF-α and IFN-γ plasma levels. These findings ascribe OA as powerful alternatives to manage PWD, even if further studies are required to fully understand the effectiveness of OA to completely replace pharmacological doses of Zn.…”