Nigella sativa L. as an alternative antibiotic feed supplement and effect on growth performance in weanling pigs

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture 2018-06, Vol.98 (8), p.3175-3181
• Main Authors: Petrujkić, Branko T, Beier, Ross C, He, Haiqi, Genovese, Kenneth J, Swaggerty, Christina L, Hume, Michael E, Crippen, Tawni L, Harvey, Roger B, Anderson, Robin C, Nisbet, David J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alternative antibiotic; Antibiotics; Campylobacter; Colonization; Diet; Dietary supplements; E coli; Escherichia coli; feed conversion ratio; Feed efficiency; feed supplement; Feed supplements; Glutamic acid; Glutamine; Intestine; Livestock; Nigella sativa; Oral administration; Performance enhancement; Populations; Rectum; Salmonella; Swine; Weaning; weanling pigs
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8823

BACKGROUND Nigella sativa L. (NS) is a plant containing bioactive constituents such as thymoquinone. Extracts of NS improve performance and reduce enteropathogen colonization in poultry and small ruminants, but studies with swine are lacking. In two different studies oral administration of NS extracts at doses equivalent to 0, 1.5 and 4.5 g kg−1 diet was assessed on piglet performance and intestinal carriage of wildtype Escherichia coli and Campylobacter, and Salmonella Typhimurium. RESULTS Wildtype E. coli populations in the jejunal and rectal content collected 9 days after treatment began were decreased (P ≤ 0.05). Populations recovered from pigs treated with extract at 1.5 and 4.5 g kg−1 diet were 0.72–1.31 log10 units lower than the controls (ranging from 6.05 to 6.61 log10 CFU g−1). Wildtype Campylobacter and Salmonella Typhimurium were unaffected by NS treatment. Feed efficiency over the 9 days improved linearly (P