Because SCFA and MCFA are usually rapidly metabolised by the microbiota of the gut and absorbed by epithelial cells along the gastro-intestinal tract
the supplemented fatty acids should be protected from the intestinal environment until they reach the major sites of colonization by Salmonella.
namely the ileum,caecum and colon.
In this report, a trend for decreased intestinal Salmonella load and bacterial shedding in pigs was shown using supplemented coated butyric acid
but not using supplemented uncoated butyric acid, as also previously described in poultry
Even though caprylic acid showed a stronger effect on invasion in vitro
this positive effect was not reproduced in vivo
This may partially be explained by the fact that the coated butyric acid supplement was an extensively characterized
and optimized commercial product,
while the caprylic acid supplement was not.