131 Dietary Valerate Glycerides: Effects on Growth, Diarrhea, and Fecal Culture of Weanling Piglets Infected with Escherichia coli F18

The present experiment aimed to investigate the effects of dietary valerate glycerides on performance and diarrhea of weanling piglets infected with F18+ Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Sixty weaned piglets (6.97 ± 0.75 kg body weight; 21 d old) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments: nursery basal diet (control), 0.075% or 0.1% monovalerin, or 0.1% trivalerin added to control. After 7-d adaptation, all piglets were orally inoculated with F18+ ETEC (10¹⁰ CFU/3 mL) on d 0, d 1, and d 2 post-inoculation (PI). Daily diarrhea scores (scale range of 1 to 5) were recorded and body weight data were collected throughout the experiment. Bacteria were cultured from fecal swabs throughout the experiment to monitor the frequency of β-hemolytic coliforms. All data were analyzed by the Proc Mixed of SAS with randomized complete block design and pig as an experimental unit. Seven replicate pigs per treatment present throughout the entire trial period were used to analyze growth performance. Piglets fed 0.075% or 0.1% monovalerin had greater (P < 0.05) body weight on d 0 and tended (P < 0.10) to have greater body weight on d 21 PI, compared with control pigs. The average daily gain was higher (P < 0.05) in pigs supplemented with 0.075% monovalerin compared with control (662.69 and 559.41 g/d, respectively) between d 7 and d 21 PI. Supplementation of 0.1% trivalerin reduced (P < 0.05) the frequency of diarrhea throughout the trial and reduced (P < 0.05) the percentage of β-hemolytic coliforms in fecal cultures on d 7 PI, compared with control pigs. Current results indicate dietary supplementation of monovalerin improved growth performance regardless of doses, and inclusion of 0.1% trivalerin reduced the incidence of diarrhea and shedding of β-hemolytic coliforms in piglets challenged with F18+ ETEC infection.