The study evaluated the effect of a microencapsulated blend of botanicals, fed to weaning piglets artifi cially challenged with Escherichia coli F4, the main determining agent of post-weaning diarrhea. A total of 32 piglets weaned at 28 days of age were divided into 4 groups: negative control, basal diet, not challenged; infected control (INF), basal diet, challenged; ZnO group (ZnO), basal + 2500 ppm of ZnO, challenged; treated (TRT) group, basal diet + microencapsulated blend of botanicals at 2 kg/ton, challenged. After 18 days of study, the challenge consisted of an oral inoculation with E. coli F4 (fi eld strain, colistin and rifampicin-resistant) and the study lasted 14 additional days. All the infected animals showed clinical signs induced by the challenge. At day 3 post-challenge, the INF group did lose weight signifi cantly compared to control group, while both ZnO group and TRT group showed intermediate values of weight gain (P<0.01). The TRT group partially reduced the counts of total E. coli after the challenge (day 2 and 3) compared to INF group and reduced the percentage of positive fecal samples for E. coli F4 (inoculated) to 83.3% compared to 90.2% for INF group and 86% for ZnO group. In conclusion, the microencapsulated blend of botanicals used in this study can partially help piglets during a challenge with E. coli F4.
Discover More: Tugnoli et al. (2022). XLVII meeting annuale Società Italiana di Patologia ed Allevamento dei Suini (SIPAS)