Acute phase response of piglets fed diets containing non-starch polysaccharide hydrolysis products and egg yolk antibodies following an oral challenge with Escherichia coli (k88)

Acute phase responses (APR) in pigs fed non-starch polysaccharides hydrolysis products (HP) and egg yolk antibodies against K88 fimbriae (EYA) following oral challenge with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 (ETEC) were evaluated. The HP were products of incubating feedstuffs with a blend of carbohydrase enzymes. Forty, 21-d-old pigs (two pigs/pen) were assigned to four diets to give five pens per diet. The diets were: a control fed without or with 5 g kg-1 of HP and EYA either singly or in combination forming a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Following a 9-d adaptation period, pigs were bled and given an oral dose of ETEC. Pigs were then bled and feed intake recorded within 48 h post-challenge. Pigs fed HP ate more (P < 0.05) than pigs not fed HP during the ETEC challenge. Interaction between additives and time was observed for packed cell volume (PCV, P = 0.0002), in which case pigs fed the control diet showed lower PCV at 6 h post-challenge than pigs fed additives. At 48 h post-challenge, main effects (P < 0.10) were such that pigs fed HP-diets had lower serum haptoglobin and pigs fed EYA-diets had higher interleukin-6 compared with pigs fed non-HP and non-EYA diets, respectively. In conclusion, HP and EYA reduced the severity of ETEC-enteritis in piglets with some evidence of synergistic effects. Key words: Acute phase responses, egg yolk antibodies, non-starch polysaccharides, hydrolysis products, piglet diarrhea