Antibacterial plants in piglet diarrhea

Piglet postweaning diarrhea causes significant economic losses in both conventional and organic pig farming. Antibiotics and zinc oxide have traditionally been used to control and treat the disease but concerns about antimicrobial resistance and environmental pollution have encouraged the search for alternatives to combat intestinal pathogens such as enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, a major cause of postweaning diarrhea in pigs. Medicinal plants and related products are frequently studied alternatives for prevention of piglet postweaning diarrhea. However, there has been limited research on the efficacy of antibacterial plant combinations in reducing postweaning diarrhea in organic-raised piglets. We investigated the effect of dietary supplementation with garlic and apple pomace or blackcurrant powders on infection indicators and fecal microbiota of organic-raised piglets challenged with Escherichia coli F18. We found that the dietary supplementation of garlic in combination with apple pomace or blackcurrant limited Escherichia coli proliferation, reduced postweaning diarrhea indicators, and beneficially impacted the fecal microbiota diversity, composition, and stability of organic-raised piglets. The use garlic in combination with apple pomace or blackcurrant provides a safe nutritional strategy for maintaining postweaning health in organic and possibly conventional pig production, thereby reducing the need for veterinary medical interventions.