Animal Bioscience (Jan 2022)

Simultaneous feeding of calcium butyrate and tannin extract decreased the incidence of diarrhea and proinflammatory markers in weaned piglets

  • Camila Demarco Maito,
  • Antonio Diego Brandão Melo,
  • Angela Cristina da Fonseca de Oliveira,
  • Jansller Luiz Genova,
  • Jair Rodini Engracia Filho,
  • Renata Ernlund Freitas de Macedo,
  • Kelly Mazutti Monteiro,
  • Saulo Henrique Weber,
  • Astrid Koppenol,
  • Leandro Batista Costa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5713/ab.21.0011
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 35, no. 1
pp. 87 – 95

Abstract

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Objective This study was conducted to investigate the effect of associating calcium butyrate with tannin extract, compared to an antimicrobial on the growth performance, incidence of diarrhea, intestinal histology, immune-expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in piglets. Methods Seventy-two piglets (36 barrows and 36 gilts) weaned at 28±2 d and initial body weight of 7.17±1.07 kg were allocated to 3 treatments in a randomized complete block design with 8 replicates per treatment and 3 animals per experimental unit. Treatments were composed of NC, negative control: basal diet without additives; PC, positive control: basal diet + 40 mg/kg of colistin sulfate; or BT, basal diet + calcium butyrate + tannin extract. The butyrate and tannin inclusion levels were 0.15% in the pre-starter phase and 0.075% in the starter phase. Incidence of diarrhea was monitored daily, and on d 14 and 35 of experiment, 1 animal from each experimental unit was slaughtered to collect intestinal samples. Results No significant differences were observed for growth performance. The butyrate- and tannin-based additive resulted in reduced (p<0.05) incidence of diarrhea in piglets during d 1 to 14 and d 1 to 35 in comparison with the other treatments. Piglets that consumed the diet containing the calcium-butyrate and tannin showed a lower (p<0.05) crypt depth in the duodenum than those receiving the NC treatment at 14 d of experimentation. The BT treatment provided a lower (p<0.05) immune-expression of COX-2 at 14 d and TNF-α at 35 d in the duodenum. Conclusion Association between calcium butyrate and tannin extract resulted in a significant decrease in the incidence of diarrhea and inflammatory process in the duodenum of piglets. Therefore, calcium-butyrate combined with tannin could be a part of an alternative program to reduce the use of antimicrobials in the diet of weaned piglets.

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