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Organic acids (OA) and essential oils (EO) are used in swine diets to reduce diarrhea and support gut health.
Objective: In the present study, two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of microencapsulated organic acids and essential oils P (OA + EO) on sow productivity and nursery pig performance.
Methods: The first experiment, 334 sows were divided into 2 groups: 1) Control group; 2) Treatment group fed diet supplemented with P (OA + EO) from 7 days before to 28 days after farrowing. The second experiment, 3065 nursery piglets were divided into 2 groups: 1) Control group allocated into phase I (28–49 days of age) and phase II (50–70 days of age); 2) Treatment group fed the same phase I diet supplemented with 2 kg/ton P(OA + EO), and phase II with 1 kg/ton P (OA + EO).
Results: Performance, shoulder ulcer, body condition score, and fecal microbiota were measured. Sows fed P (OA + EO) had lower body condition scores and body fat losses compared with the Control group. The percentage of sows with shoulder ulcer was lower in the P (OA + EO) group. Average daily feed intake of sows in the P (OA + EO) group was higher than the Control group. The number of pigs with diarrhea/litter, pre-weaning mortality, average weaned pigs/litter, average weaning weight/litter, and average daily litter weight gain were all improved by P (OA + EO). In the nursery pig experiment, average daily feed intake and average daily gain were higher, while feed conversion ratio was improved in the P (OA + EO) group. At 28 days of age, the total fecal bacterial population in the P (OA + EO) group was lower than the Control group, whereas total fecal bacterial population, coliform, E. coli and Lactobacillus spp. were higher at 70 days. However, Lactobacillus spp./Total bacteria ratio and Lactobacillus spp./Coliform ratio were similar between treatment groups at 28, 49, and 70 days.
Conclusion: Supplementation of P (OA + EO) during lactation yielded improvements in sow productivity and suckling performance of piglets. Extending supplementation of P (OA + EO) into the nursery period revealed positive impacts on growth performance of weaned piglets. These improvements could be attributed to the positive effect of P (OA + EO) on feed intake, leading to increased nutrient assimilation.
Riadini A R, Assavacheep P, Angkanaporn K, Samngamnim S, Seemacharoensri A, Tactacan GB, Lahaye L, Assavacheep A. Dietary supplementation with microencapsulated organic acids and essential oils improves sow productivity and nursery pig performance under commercial field conditions. Porcine Health Management. 2026; 12(1):12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-026-00491-8
