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. 2025 Jan 10;12(1):42.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci12010042.

Control of Neonatal Diarrhea in Piglets with Reduced Antibiotic Use by Application of a Complementary Feed-A Randomized Controlled Farm Trial

Klaus K Sall  1   2 , Leslie Foldager  3   4 , Charlotte Delf  5 , Sigurd J Christensen  2 , Michael N Agerley  2   6 , Kristian T Havn  2   6 , Carsten Pedersen  7
Affiliations

Control of Neonatal Diarrhea in Piglets with Reduced Antibiotic Use by Application of a Complementary Feed-A Randomized Controlled Farm Trial

Klaus K Sall et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

The objective of this farm trial was to investigate if the consumption of antibiotics could be reduced when piglets showing early signs of neonatal diarrhea were treated with an oral dose of tannin extract derived from sweet chestnut wood. The farm had a very high incidence of neonatal diarrhea among gilt litters. Gilts were randomized into test or control groups in a 1:1 ratio to compare the consumption of antibiotics used for piglets and piglet mortality during the four-week trial period. Control litters were treated with the oral antibiotic paromomycin, while test litters were treated with the complementary feed O-Nella-Protect. The farm trial included 18 gilt litters comprising 254 piglets. In the control group, 100% of the piglets received antibiotic treatment. In the test group, consumption of antibiotics used against diarrhea was reduced by 84% (p = 0.001) and consumption of antibiotics used for other illnesses was reduced by 45% (p = 0.045). In both test and control groups, six piglets died. Microbiological analysis identified both potential bacterial and viral pathogens. In conclusion, the farm trial indicates that even under the challenge of potentially serious bacterial and viral pathogens, a complimentary feed containing a tannin extract can support piglet health and reduce antibiotic consumption.

Keywords: Castanea sativa; Clostridium perfringens; O-Nella-Protect; RCT; RWA; Rotavirus; neonatal diarrhea; piglet; polyphenole; randomized controlled trial; tannin extract.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors L.F., C.D. and C.P. declare that they have no competing interests. The company Pedersen Nutrition Ltd also has no competing interests. Authors K.T.H., K.K.S., M.J.A. and S.J.C. declare that they have shared ownership of the company Newtrifeed ApS, which sells the tested product O-Nella-Protect. K.K.S. who owns Sall&Sall Advisors and S.J.C. declare that they received economic compensation as directors of Newtrifeed ApS and that they co-invented the product. K.T.H. and M.N.A. declare that they on a monthly basis provide veterinary service to the test farm on behalf of the veterinary company Porcus according to Danish regulations, that they recommended the farm for the test, and that they have a professional interest in reducing the consumption of antibiotics on farms.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Blue columns illustrate consumption of antibiotics in Test group and orange columns illustrate consumption of antibiotics in Control group. Left: The total number of doses of antibiotics in test and control groups. Next; the number of doses of antibiotic doses used against diarrhea in test group and in control group during the primary treatment period (p1). Next; the number of doses used against diarrhea in test and control groups for follow up treatments (p2) Right: Consumption of doses of other antibiotics against all other illnesses in test group and control groups.
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