Inhibition of Typhimurium by medium chain fatty acids in an simulation of the porcine cecum

Winy Messens , Johan Goris , Noël Dierick , Lieve Herman , Marc Heyndrickx

Typhimurium was responsible for more than half of the reported cases of human salmonellosis in Belgium in 2007 and was the predominant serovar isolated from slaughter pig carcasses. To lower the contamination of pork meat, measures can be taken at the primary production level, e.g. by reducing the shedding of through the use of feed additives such as medium chain fatty acids (MCFA's). An continuous culture system, simulating the porcine cecum, was developed for investigating the effect of MCFA's (sodium caproate, sodium caprylate and sodium caprinate) on the pig intestinal microbial community. The system was monitored by plating on selective media, PCR-DGGE and HPLC analysis of fermentation products. An inoculated Typhimurium strain could be maintained by the system at a population size of about 5 log cfu/mL. By addition of 15mM caprylate, significant reductions of coliforms and counts by 4.69 log units (95% confidence interval: 4.19-5.18) could be achieved, while other bacterial populations were clearly less affected. This concentration seems economically feasible in pig feed, provided that the substance can reach the cecum without being absorbed. Thus, caprylate, for example in the form of encapsulated beads or as triacylglycerol oil, might have potential as a -reducing additive in pig feed.

Mots clés: Medicine

Winy Messens, Johan Goris, Noël Dierick, Lieve Herman, Marc Heyndrickx. Inhibition of Typhimurium by medium chain fatty acids in an simulation of the porcine cecum. Veterinary Microbiology, 2010, 141 (1-2), pp.73. ⟨10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.08.002⟩. ⟨hal-00560847⟩