Oregano essential oil as food additive for piglets: antimicrobial and antioxidant potential

Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia

João Dionísio Henn²  Teresinha Marisa Bertol¹  Neusa Fernandes De Moura²  Arlei Coldebella¹  Paulo Antônio Rabenschlag De Brum¹  Maurício Casagrande² 

[1] ,Universidade Comunitária Regional de Chapecó Centro de Ciências Agro-Ambientais e de Alimentos Chapecó SC ,89809-000

关键词: growth promoter;    natural additives;    nutrition;    Origanun vulgare;    swine;    aditivos naturais;    nutrição;    Origanun vulgare;    promotor de crescimento;    suínos;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1516-35982010000800019

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of oregano essential oil on the performance and on the occurrence of diarrhea in weanling pigs, as well as its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity evaluated in vitro. It was compared four treatments (diets): negative control; positive control, 0.5% ZnO (preventive diarrhea) + 0.05% zinc acitracin (growth promoter); or 0.003% of essential oil of oregano, combined or not with preventive of diarrhea. Weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion were evaluated from 27 (weaning) to 62 days of age of the animals, and the occurrence of diarrhea was evaluated on the first 14 days of the experiment. The positive control diet and the oregano oil + zinc oxide diet were the ones that provided the best zootechnical performance. The number of piglets with diarrhea, as well as the duration of diarrhea, were lower in animals fed positive control and oregano oil + zinc oxide diets. Oregano oil had in vitro bacteriostatic action on all the tested microorganisms and bactericidal action against four bacteria. The in vitro antioxidant activity of oregano oil was 98.88% through linoleic acid/β-carotene system methodology, and 174.17 mg/mL by the DPPH method, expressed as CE50. Oregano oil shows potent antioxidant effect and a strong antimicrobial activity, however, it does not improve the zootechnical performance neither it is efficient in preventing diarrhea in weanling pigs.

【 授权许可】

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