Effect of dietary addition of nitrate on growth, salivary and gastric function, immune response, and excretion of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, in weaning pigs challenged with this microbe strain

Abstract

Two dietary additions of nitrate (15 mg/kg or 150 mg/kg, supplied by potassium salt) were tested in a total 96 weaning pigs challenged or not with Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium (ST). The oral challenge was done on d 5 and pigs were sacrificed on d 7 or d 25. The effect of challenge never interacted significantly with the dietary treatment. Feed intake, growth, body temperature, salivary excretion, and faecal excretion of ST and gastric function were not affected by the nitrate supplementation. With nitrate additions, total IgA in blood serum tended to be higher before and after the challenge (P<0.10). Nitrite in saliva &ndash; but not nitrate &ndash; increased with the increasing supplementation at d 5, but not at d 19. The nitrate additions did not negatively affect the weaning performance, but also did not contrast the effect of ST infection.