Protective Effects of Benzoic Acid, Bacillus Coagulans, and Oregano Oil on Intestinal Injury Caused by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in Weaned Piglets

Table 7

Effects of dietary benzoic acid, bacillus coagulans, and oregano oil combined supplementation on intestinal bacteria in the jejunal and cecal digesta of piglets challenged with Escherichia coli (log₁₀(copies/g)).

Items	CON	ETEC	AT	AB	AO	ABO	SEM	P1	P2^†
jejunum
Lactobacillus	7.25	6.89	7.38	7.33	7.53	7.62	0.08	0.127	0.055
Bacillus	10.99	10.88	10.95	10.99	11.01	11.00	0.02	0.148	0.466
Bifidobacterium	6.64	6.59	7.28	7.23	7.13	7.37	0.10	0.887	0.185
Escherichia coli	7.48	8.46	7.82	6.98	7.25	6.98	0.18	0.151	0.054
Total bacteria	9.29	9.18	9.41	9.41	9.39	9.42	0.06	0.618	0.736
Cecum
Lactobacillus	8.40	7.70	8.20	8.09	8.29	8.32	0.08	0.065	0.040
Bacillus	9.84	9.60	9.85	10.04	9.82	9.88	0.04	0.083	0.008
Bifidobacterium	7.88	7.74	7.79	8.14	7.81	8.03	0.07	0.333	0.494
Escherichia coli	8.51	9.56	8.87	8.76	8.75	8.35	0.15	0.001	0.285
Total bacteria	11.29	11.18	11.39	1.38	11.41	11.49	0.03	0.407	0.055

^#Significantly different from CON group (p< 0.05). In the same row, different superscript letters show significant difference among ETEC-challenged groups (p< 0.05).
P1 was used to determine the response to ETEC challenge, CON v. ETEC.
^†P2 was used to determine the response to benzoic acid, bacillus coagulans, and oregano oil combined supplementation among ETEC-challenged piglets.