Abstract This study investigated the effects of monobutyrin and monovalerin supplementation in drinking water on growth performance, diarrhea, and mortality of weanling pigs experimentally infected with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F18. Sixty weaned pigs (body weight = 6.38 ± 0.92 kg) were individually housed and randomly allotted to four treatments (15 pigs/treatment): a basal diet (CON), CON + 0.045% of monobutyrin or monovalerin in drinking water, or 50 mg/kg of antibiotic (carbadox) in feed. The experiment lasted 28 days, including 7 days before and 21 days after the first inoculation (d 0). All pigs were orally inoculated with ETEC F18 (1010 CFU/3 mL) for 3 consecutive days. Body weight was recorded on d –7, 0, 5, 14, and 21 post-inoculation (PI). Feed and water intake were measured throughout the experiment. Fecal scores were recorded twice daily (1 = normal to 5 = watery diarrhea). Data were analyzed by ANOVA using the PROC MIXED of SAS with pig as the experimental unit. The severity of diarrhea and mortality rate were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Pigs fed antibiotic had higher (P 0.05) body weight on d 5 PI than those fed monobutyrin or monovalerin and showed a higher (P 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) from d -7 to d 5 PI than other groups. However, pigs fed CON or monovalerin had higher (P 0.05) ADG from d 5 to 14 PI than pigs fed antibiotic. Supplementation of antibiotic increased (P 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI) from d 0 to d 5 PI compared with other groups. Feed efficiency was higher (P 0.05) in pigs fed antibiotic or CON from d 0 to d 5 PI, whereas pigs fed antibiotic had lower (P 0.05) feed efficiency than other groups from d 5 to 21 PI. Pigs fed antibiotic had a higher (P 0.05) average daily water intake (ADWI) compared with other groups from d 14 to 21 PI. The severity of diarrhea was 62.5% in CON, 47.3% in monobutyrin, 51.4% in monovalerin, and 31.4% in antibiotic group on d 0 to d 5 PI. The severity of diarrhea was 25.9% in CON, 20.8% in monobutyrin, 19.0% in monovalerin, and 13.1% in antibiotic group from d 0 to d 21 PI. The mortality rate was 40% in CON, 0% in monobutyrin, 6.7% in monovalerin, and 6.7% in antibiotic group, with most pigs lost during d 1 to 4 PI. In conclusion, supplementation of monobutyrin or monovalerin in drinking water mitigated the negative impacts of ETEC F18 on growth performance, and reduced the severity of diarrhea and the reduced mortality rate of weaned pigs challenged with ETEC F18.
Park et al. (Wed,) studied this question.