Protective Effects of Benzoic Acid, Bacillus Coagulans, and Oregano Oil on Intestinal Injury Caused by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in Weaned Piglets

The use of antibiotics as growth promoters in feed has been fully or partially banned in several countries. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of benzoic acid (A), bacillus coagulans (B) and oregano oil (O) combined supplementation on growth performance and intestinal barrier in piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Thirty piglets were randomly assigned to 6 treatments: (1) nonchallenged control (CON); (2) ETEC-challenged control (ETEC); (3) antibiotics + ETEC (AT); (4) A + B + ETEC (AB); (5) A + O + ETEC (AO); (6) A + B + O + ETEC (ABO). On day 22, piglets were orally challenged with ETEC or saline. The trial lasted 26 days. Dietary AO and ABO inhibited the reduction of growth performance and the elevation of diarrhoea incidence in piglets induced by ETEC (P

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