Sixty-four
weaned pigs (6.3 ± 0.2 kg BW, and 21 d old) were housed
in individual pens in disease containment chambers for
15 d: 4 d before and 11 d after the first inoculation (d
0). Treatments were in a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement:
with or without an F-18 E. coli challenge (toxins: heatlabile
toxin, heat-stable toxin b, and Shiga-like toxin 2;
1010 cfu/3 mL oral dose; daily for 3 d from d 0) and 4
diets [a nursery basal diet (CON) or 10 ppm of capsicum
oleoresin, garlic botanical, or turmeric oleoresin].
The growth performance was measured on d 0 to 5, 5 to
On d 5 and 11, half of the pigs
were euthanized to measure villi height and crypt depth
of the small intestine and macrophage and neutrophil
number in the ileum. The E. coli infection increased
(P < 0.05) diarrhea score, frequency of diarrhea, white
blood cell counts, serum TNF-α and haptoglobin, and
ileal macrophages and neutrophils but reduced (P <
0.05) villi height and the ratio of villi height to crypt
depth of the small intestine on d 5. In the challenged
group, feeding plant extracts reduced (P < 0.05) average
diarrhea score from d 0 to 2 and d 6 to 11 and frequency
of diarrhea and decreased (P < 0.05) TNF-α and
haptoglobin on d 5, white blood cell counts and neutrophils
on d 11, and ileal macrophages and neutrophils
on d 5. Feeding plant extracts increased (P < 0.05) ileal
villi height on d 5 but did not affect growth performance
compared with the CON. In the sham group, feeding
plant extract also reduced (P < 0.05) diarrhea score,
frequency of diarrhea, and ileal macrophages compared
with the CON. In conclusion, the 3 plant extracts tested
reduced diarrhea and inflammation caused by E. coli
infection, which may be beneficial to pig health.