Medium-chain fatty acids have been considered a potential
alternative for antibiotics in pig diets (Dierick et
al., 2002). Bacterial cells take up undissociated fatty
acids, and once these dissociate, the change in intracellular
pH is usually bactericidal (van der Wielen et al.,
2002). In testing the survival of Salmonella enterica serovar
typhimurium during exposure to short-chain fatty acids,
Kwan and Ricke (1998) showed butyrate and valerate to
have the greatest efficacy