PSVI-16 The Association of Benzoic Acid and Essential Oils Eo Reduces the Inflammatory Response of Weaned Piglets and the Diarrhea Incidence in the Nursery Phase

Abstract Benzoic acid (BA) and essential oils (EO) can minimize growth performance losses due to the removal of antibiotics and change the intestinal health of weaned piglets. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of BA and EO on inflammatory response, diarrhea incidence, and growth performance of the nursery phase. One hundred and twenty barrows were weaned at 23 days (6.40 ± 0.53 kg) and assigned into 3 treatments (10 replicates) in randomized block design: basal diet without additives (NC), basal diet with 200 ppm of colistin sulphate (PC), and association of 0,3% benzoic acid and essential oil (BA+EO). The feed intake and body weight were recorded at 0 and 42 days. The feces were assessed daily (per animal) and graded as normal feces (no diarrhea) or liquid or pasty stools (presence of diarrhea). On days 1, 3, and 9, blood samples were collected (5 replicates) for white blood cells (WBC) counts. Growth performance was analyzed by MIXED procedure (SAS, 2009) and the Tukey test was used to compare the means (P < 0.050). The WBC counts were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance, by MIXED procedure. Diarrhea incidence was analyzed by GENMOD procedure (SAS, 2009). The BA+EO treatment showed a similar body weight (P = 0.014) and average daily gain (P = 0.012) than the PC group and lower feed conversion ratio (P = 0.037) compared to the NC group. The pigs of the BA+EO treatment had the lowest diarrhea incidence during the total period (P < 0.001). The supplementation with BA+EO or antibiotics reduced the counts of total WBC (P = 0.008) and neutrophils (P = 0.003). In conclusion, supplementation with BA+EO reduces the inflammatory response and the incidence of diarrhea in the nursery phase, that may be related to the improvement in the FCR.