Effect of Kalahari Melon Essential Oil and Butyric Acid on Growth Performance and Protein Utilisation Efficiency in Growing Pigs

Effect of Kalahari Melon Essential Oil and Butyric Acid on Growth Performance and Protein Utilisation Efficiency in Growing Pigs | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effect of Kalahari Melon Essential Oil and Butyric Acid on Growth Performance and Protein Utilisation Efficiency in Growing Pigs Rumbidzai Blessing Nhara, Upenyu Marume This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7216091/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A study was conducted to determine the effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid growth promoters on growth performance and protein utilisation in growing pigs. Forty growing mixed sex large white weaned piglets were weighed and randomly allocated to five dietary treatments NC-negative control (no growth promoter), PC- (antibiotic growth promoter), KEO-Kalahari melon essential oil (0.4%), BA- butyric acid (0.6%) and KEOA Kalahari melon essential oil (0.4%) + Butyric acid (0.6%) and each pig was considered an experimental unit. Dietary treatments significantly influenced growth performance ( P < 0.05). Dietary treatment significantly (P < 0.05) affected protein utilisation and growth efficiency. Specific growth rate (SGR) significantly differed (P < 0.0005) for all dietary treatments and growth efficiency (GE) was high in KEOA (4.89 ± 0.12) and lowest in NC (3.72 ± 0.12). The findings indicate that Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid growth promoters can influence protein, nutrient utilisation and growth performance at comparable rate as antibiotic growth promoters in growing pigs. Kalahari melon essential oil Butyric acid growth performance protein utilisation Figures Figure 1 Introduction The pig industry is one of the main sectors which use antibiotic growth promoters for improved production performance. The sudden shift and restrictions on their use had a negative impact on pig welfare (Aroeira et al., 2021 ). The ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in Europe and other developed countries resulted in an associated increase in the incidence of diarrhoea in weaned pigs, and in production losses mainly through an increase in mortalities (0.6% increase), and a reduction in growth rate (2.6% decrease) (McEwen et al., 2018 ). The increased restrictions on the use of antibiotic growth promoters necessitated an urgent need to explore alternatives that are both consumer and environmentally friendly (Stefanello et al., 2020 ). A variety of compounds, including organic acids, essential oils, probiotics and enzymes have been proposed as potential alternatives to antibiotics ref. Organics acids (OA) have some carboxyl and hydroxyl groups with potential bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties and create an environment that promotes beneficial microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract (Suiryanrayna & Ramana, 2015 ). Organic acids in weaned pig diets have been reported to improve growth performance (Branz et al., 2011), gastrointestinal health and a lower incidence of diarrhoea. Apart from improving growth performance, organic acids have also been shown to decrease the incidence of post-weaning disorders (PWD) in piglets. The antimicrobial action of OA plays an important role in feed preservation (Brzóska et al., 2013 ). Essential oils (EO) are aromatic oily liquids which are associated with some antibacterial activity which results in improved performances in weaned piglets, immunity and gut microbiota diversity while reducing the incidence of diarrhoea in piglets (Li et al., 2021). The combination of EO and OA in feeding monogastric animals has gained much attention due to the synergetic and or additive effect on gut health and growth performance (Liu et al., 2017 ). There has been an increase in studies to evaluate the effects of synergism between some OA and EO on growth performance and nutrient utilisation in pigs (Zhou, 2007; Souza et al., 2009 ; Hulánková & Bořilová, 2011 ; Diao et al., 2015 ; Resende et al., 2020 ; Zhai et al., 2020 ). Nevertheless, due to the diversity of organic acids and essential oils being used in the different blends, it is imperative to explore the potential of the different organic acids and essential oils rather than generalise on the available information about some of these compounds. Currently, no information is available on the potential of Kalahari melon essential oils and butyric acid blend on the performance of growing pigs. The study, therefore, sought to evaluate the effect of the use of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid blend as alternative growth promotants on the growth performance and protein utilisation in weaned piglets. Materials and Methods Experimental site The study was carried out at the North-West University experimental farm (Molelwane) which is located in the North-West province of South Africa. The geographical coordinates are 25° 28′ 0″ South and 22° 28′ 0″ East. Average minimum temperatures of3°C and average maximum of 38°C with an annual rainfall range of 300–500 mm. Animal management A total of 40 mixed sex Large White growing pigs aged 8 weeks were used in a twelve-week feeding trial. The growing pigs were sourced from Molelwane North West University experimental farm. The pigs were given two weeks for adaptation to the diet which was not part of the experimental period. All the pigs were allowed individual ad libitum access to feed and water through a self-feeder and nipple drinker throughout the experimental period. Experimental grower diets were offered from 0.5 kg per day on arrival and the amount was increased depending on average weights. Experimental design and dietary treatments Mixed sex Large White piglets were randomly allocated into one of the five treatments arranged in a completely randomized design and were fed individually. Each treatment had 8 replicates, and each pig was considered an experimental unit. Dietary treatments were formulated with the inclusion of antibiotic growth promoter Zinc Bacitracin (PO), organic feed additives butyric acid (BA) and Kalahari melon essential oil (EO) as follows: negative control (no growth promoter), positive control (Zinc Bacitracin growth promoter), grower diet + EO (0.4%), grower diet + BA (0.6%) and grower diet + BA (0.4%) + EO (0.6%). The diets were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) using the protocol of the Association of Official Analytical Chemicals (AOAC). The diets and compositional analysis are shown in Table 3.1. Antibiotic growth promoter Zinc Bacitracin was purchased from Animate Animal Health, Edenvale, Gauteng, South Africa. The essential oil, butyric acids were purchased from Nutrica Organics (Pvt Ltd), South Africa. The essential oil was extracted from C. Lanatus seed using cold pressing method (Marume et al., 2020). All other dietary components were purchased from Nutri feeds, Pretoria (SA). The experimental procedure and designs of the study were approved by the North-West University Animal Production Research Ethics committee (NWU-AnimProdREC) and it was granted ethics number NWU-02010-20-A5. All institutional ,national and international guidelines for the use and care of laboratory animals was used. Table 1 Feed ingredients for dietary treatments Dietary Treatments Ingredient (%) NC PC KEO BA KEBA Maize 68.32 68.32 68.32 68.32 68.32 Soya bean meal (Local) 25 25 25 25 25 Soya bean crude oil 1 1 1 1 1 Salt-(fine) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Mono calcium phosphate 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 Calcium carbonate 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 L-Lysine HCI 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 DL-Methionine 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 L-Tryptophan 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 L-Threonine 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 Vitamin premix 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Trace mineral premix 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Copper sulphate, 25% 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 Antioxidant 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 Additives other 0 0 0.1 0.1 0.1 Zinc Bacitracin 0 0.1 0 0 0 Nutritional composition (%) Dry matter 93.12 93.29 93.44 93.69 93.99 Moisture 6.87 6.70 7.55 7.10 7.00 Crude protein 18.34 18.47 18.17 18.49 18.84 Ether extracts 3.68 3.71 4.51 3.63 4.24 NDF 20.09 19.31 23.94 20.82 21.56 ADF 11.24 11.22 11.13 11.21 11.29 NC-Negative control (no antibiotic growth promoter); PC-Positive control (antibiotic growth promoter); KEO (Kalahari melon essential oil); BA( Butyric acid); KEBA(Kalahari melon essential oil butyric acid blend Daily feed intake was calculated as the difference in feed offered and the refusals collected each morning before the next feeding for all the experimental diets. The pigs from each pen were weighed every week so that growth rates can be computed. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated for each pig. Feed intake and weight gain were recorded every week until the termination of the experiment. Feed Intake = Feed offered –Feed refusals Body weight gain = Initial weight –Final weight Feed convection ratio = Feed intake/Weight gain Protein utilisation efficiency Protein consumed (PC g/pig) was calculated by multiplying the concentration of crude protein (CPd) in the diet (g/kg DM consumed) by feed intake over the feeding phase, protein efficiency ratio (PER g/kg) was calculated by dividing mean body weight gain (BWG) by the mean protein consumed. Specific growth rate (SGR), which is percent growth per feeding phase and growth efficiency (GE) was calculated using the following formulas: $$\:\text{P}\text{C}=FI\:\times\:CPd$$ PER = \(\:\frac{\:BWG\:}{PC\:}\) SGR = \(\:\frac{(In\:final\:weight\:-\:In\:\:initial\:weight)\:}{84\:d\:}\times\:100\) GE = \(\:\frac{\:BWG\:}{Initial\:weight\:}\) Statistical Analysis All data were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis (SAS, 2010) and comparisons particularly the GLM procedures for once-off data and the mixed model for repeated measures. PDIFF option of SAS was used for separation of means while contrasts were used to assess the specific effects of organic acids and essential oils on the different parameters. For all tests, the level of significance was set at (P < 0.05). The following 2 models were used for data analysis: Model 1 for repeated measures taking time into consideration and Model 2 for once-off data with diet as the main factor: Y ijk = µ + T i + W j + ( T* W ) ij + εijk (1) Where: Y ijk = feed intake, weight gain, µ = population mean constant common to the observation, Ti = effect of diet, W j =effect of week, T*W ij = effect of diet interacting with week and εij = random error term. Yij = µ + T i + ε ij (2) Where: Y ij = SGR,GE, µ = population mean constant common to all observations, T i = effect of diet, and ε ij = random error term. Results Feed intake and Growth performance The effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid blend in growing pigs are presented in Table 2 . Dietary treatments significantly influenced growth performance parameters during the feeding period. Pigs fed the EOOA blend had the highest (1.10 ± 0.01 kg) average daily feed intake (ADFI) followed by those fed the OA diet (1.07 ± 0.01). NC treatment group had the lowest (0.55 ± 0.01) ADFI. Similarly, the highest average daily gain (ADG) and total weight gain (TWG) were obtained in piglets fed the EOOA (0.62 ± 0.01) diet followed by those fed the OA diet. .with the NC-fed piglets having the lowest. In comparison with the PC-fed pigs, the pigs fed EO, OA and EOOA dietary treatments had significantly lower FCR. The lowest (P < 0.05) FCR was obtained in pigs in the NC treatment. The effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid on the cumulative weight gain (CWG) of pigs is presented in Fig. 1 . A linear increase in weight gain was observed in all dietary treatments over the experimental period. EOOA and OA had the highest cumulative weight gain throughout the experimental period whilst NC treatment had the lowest CWG. For all parameters, the pigs fed the NC diet consistently had the lowest values followed by those fed the PC diet. Table 2 Effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and Butyric acid blend on growth performance in growing pigs Dietary Treatments PARAMETER NC PC KEO BA KEBA SE SIG ADFI (kg) 0.55 a 0.86 b 0.97 b 1.07 c 1.10 c 0.01 *** ADG (kg/d) 0.34 a 0.47 b 0.55 b 0.60 c 0.62 c 0.01 *** TWG(kg) 23.77 a 32.98 b 38.58 b 42.34 c 44.03 c 0.67 *** FCR 1.97 a 2.49 c 2.30 c 2.30 c 2.15 b 0.88 ** a, b means in the same row with different superscripts are significantly different ( P < 0.05). ***( P < 0.0005),** ( P < 0.005),*( P < 0.05) and NS-no significant difference. ADFI = Average daily feed intake, ADG = Average daily gain, TWG = Total weight gain, FCR = Feed conversion ratio. NC -Negative control (without growth promoter), PC-Positive control (with growth promoter), KEO-Kalahari melon essential oil, BA- Butyric acid, KEBA-Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid blend. Protein Utilisation and Growth efficiency The results of protein utilisation and growth efficiency are presented in Table 3 . Dietary treatment significantly (P < 0.05) affected protein utilisation and growth efficiency. Protein consumed was lowest in the NC (10.10 ± 0.24) and highest in EOOA (20.75 ± 0.24) treatment group respectively. Dietary treatments affected the PER with the piglets fed the EO diet having the highest values and GE was, however, highest in pigs fed the EOOA diet followed by those fed the OA and EO diets. For all parameters, the piglets fed the EOOA diet outperformed the positive control followed by those fed the OA and EO diets. Table 3 Effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and Butyric acid blend on protein Dietary Treatments Parameter NC PC EO OA EOOA SE SIG PC (kg) 10.10 c 15.94 b 16.66 b 19.54 a 20.75 a 0.24 *** PER 0.50 a 0.52 a 0.61 b 0.58 b 0.58 b 0.01 * SGR(% d − 1 ) 28.28 c 39.26 b 45.93 ab 50.39 a 50.75 a 1.04 *** GE 3.72 a 4.39 b 4.53 b 4.39 b 4.89 c 0.12 *** abc Means in the same row with different superscripts are significantly different ( P < 0.05). ***( P < 0.0005),** ( P < 0.005),*( P < 0.05) and NS-no significant difference PC- Protein consumed, PER - Protein efficiency ratio, SGR - Specific growth rate, GE -Growth efficiency. NC -Negative control (without growth promoter), PC-Positive control (with growth promoter), EO-Kalahari melon essential oil, OA- Butyric acid, EOOA-Kalahari melon essential oil and Butyric acid blend. Discussion Organic acids and essential oils have been regarded as potential substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters in pig production. As expected in the current study, the pigs in the PC treatment group showed improved performance compared to the NC treatment group. This is because the alternative growth promoters (AGPs) can inhibit and destroy pathogenic bacteria in the gastro intestinal tract (GIT) resulting in improved feed utilisation Upadhaya et al. ( 2018 ), state that improved ADG is associated with reduced pathogenic microbes in the GIT. However, FAO, (2004) states that their continued use leads to the local bacterial population becoming resistant. As a replacement for the conventional antibiotics, the positive effect of EO, OA and EOOA to ADFI, ADG, TWG and FCR in the current study was apparent. When compared with the positive control, the pigs fed diets containing essential oils and organic acids appeared to consistently outperform their counterparts in terms of growth performance. This can be attributed to two mechanisms, stimulation of digestive enzymes and stabilisation of the gut ecosystem (Zhai et al., 2018). Essential oils have the potential to trigger the secretion of digestive enzymes hence improving nutrient digestion. The activity of trypsin and lipase is increased by the inclusion of essential oils in pig or broiler. Hampempor et al. (2013) also reported that essential oils stimulate activities and secretions of digestive enzymes including amylase and protease. Moreover, essential oils can regulate the gene expression profile of ileal mucosa stimulating nutrient digestion (Jaing et al., 2015). On the other hand, organic acids have been shown to provide an acidic environment in the stomach that activates increased digestive enzyme activity. They also have the effect of stimulating serum secretin content and improved pancreatic secretion (Papatsiros et al., 2012). Pig in the EOOA treatment group had better performance compared to the rest. This can be attributed to the combined effect of both the essential oil and organic acid in optimising growth performance. Similar results were obtained in other studies using other essentials oils and organic acids (Moquet et al., 2016 ; Xia et al.,2016; Xu et al., 2018 ; Xu et al., 2020 ; Zhai et al., 2020 ; Emili et al., 2021; Su et al., 2021). The results on protein utilisation and growth efficiency followed a similar trend to those on growth performance in the pigs. From the results, pigs fed the diets containing essential oils, organic acid and their blend consistently outperformed the pigs given the positive control diet. This can be attributed to the influence of essential oils and organic acids in stimulating and increasing pancreatic secretion resulting in increased enzyme activity and protein digestion. This ultimately resulted in improved protein utilisation and growth efficiency in growing the pigs confirming the potential of organic acids and essential oils as an alternative to AGPs. Organic acids reduce gastric pH resulting in shortened intestinal transit by increasing gastric retention and enhancing proteolytic enzymes (Xu et al., 2018 ). A lower rate of gastric depuration will cause protein molecules to hydrolyse more efficiently resulting in a beneficial effect on digestion, absorption and retention of amino acids (Xu et al., 2018 ). Thaela et al. ( 1998 ) also observed that supplementation of OA in pig diets increased the secretion of trypsin and chymotrypsin. Moreover, Low pH enhances the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria reducing their metabolic needs thereby increasing nutrient availability to host animals and enhancing growth (Adil et al., 2010 ). Essential oils stimulate the production of digestive secretions and increase enzymatic activity. Increased activity of the digestive enzymes improved digestibility and availability of nutrients (Costa et al., 2011 a). Dietary supplementation of essential oils increased the number of parietal cells hence increasing nutrient digestibility and utilisation (Trevisi et al., 2007 ). A blend of essential oils and organic acids was previously reported to increase N retention as they lower GIT pH and improve the action of pepsin and trypsin (Kwak et al., 2017; Han et al., 2018; Xu et al., 2018 ). Conclusion The findings of the study indicated that essential oils, organic acids and their blend can significantly influence, growth performance and protein utilisation efficiency, an increase in ADFI, ADG PC, PER and growth efficiency are indicative of the potential of Kalahari melon essential oil, butyric acid as substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). However, there is a need to evaluate the effect of Kalahari melon essential oil, butyric acid and their blend on blood haematology, liver function and serum biochemistry as they are correlated to growth performance and gut health. Declarations Data availability The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to concerns regarding data privacy but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Department of Biochemistry, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North West University for their support and assistance with our laboratory analysis. Funding The manuscript was extracted from the first author thesis that was financially supported by North West University School of Agricultural science, Department of Animal Science. Author information Authors and Affiliations Department of Animal Sciences, School of Agriculture Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology, North West University, P Bag X 2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa Nhara Rumbidzai Blessing and Marume Upenyu Contributions All authors contributed to manuscript review, editing, final proofreading and approving for submission. Conceptualization: NRB &MU Methodology: NRB & MU Formal Analysis: MU Data Curation: MU Writing-Original Draft: NRB. Writing – Review and Editing: NRB & MU Corresponding author Correspondence to Nhara Rumbidzai Blessing. Ethics declarations Ethics approval The experimental procedure and designs of the study were approved by the North-West University Animal Production Research Ethics committee (NWU-AnimProdREC) and it was granted ethics number NWU-02010-20-A5. Consent to participate Not applicable Consent for publication Not applicable. Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interest. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7216091","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":495964658,"identity":"d3de0575-f896-4128-b4dc-c9ed069bb4ee","order_by":0,"name":"Rumbidzai Blessing Nhara","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAuklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCQY2ECUHIg48IEWLMVhLAilaEhtAJFFazGf3Hnvwc49d+vywww+BttjJ6TYQ0CJz51y6Yc+z5NyNt9MMgFqSjc0OEHKXRI6ZBM8B5tyNsxNAWg4kbiNGi+SfA/XphrPTPxCvRZrnwOEEeekcYm2ROWMmLXPguOEG6ZyCAwkGxPhFusdM8s2Bann52embP3yosJMjqAUODMAqDYhVDgLyDaSoHgWjYBSMghEFAHBQQv7wn4AKAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"North West University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rumbidzai","middleName":"Blessing","lastName":"Nhara","suffix":""},{"id":495964659,"identity":"8ce26458-6fba-4bde-ac22-73c7d9b4aa59","order_by":1,"name":"Upenyu Marume","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"North West University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Upenyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Marume","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-25 16:38:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7216091/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7216091/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88611138,"identity":"faaf7d8f-1a2b-4da7-ad95-9ea288bd60d0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-08 09:48:09","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":58299,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of Kalahari melon essential oil, Butyric acid and their blend on cumulative weight gain in growing pig\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7216091/v1/70358432b409fbc49fc3c837.jpg"},{"id":90254406,"identity":"e361478a-cf00-47fe-863a-3c73d416e95f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-31 10:08:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":769924,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7216091/v1/3c5c1ea7-c345-435a-94b8-0f07ed907e55.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eEffect of Kalahari Melon Essential Oil and Butyric Acid on Growth Performance and Protein Utilisation Efficiency in Growing Pigs\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe pig industry is one of the main sectors which use antibiotic growth promoters for improved production performance. The sudden shift and restrictions on their use had a negative impact on pig welfare (Aroeira et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). The ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters in Europe and other developed countries resulted in an associated increase in the incidence of diarrhoea in weaned pigs, and in production losses mainly through an increase in mortalities (0.6% increase), and a reduction in growth rate (2.6% decrease) (McEwen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). The increased restrictions on the use of antibiotic growth promoters necessitated an urgent need to explore alternatives that are both consumer and environmentally friendly (Stefanello et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA variety of compounds, including organic acids, essential oils, probiotics and enzymes have been proposed as potential alternatives to antibiotics ref. Organics acids (OA) have some carboxyl and hydroxyl groups with potential bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties and create an environment that promotes beneficial microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract (Suiryanrayna \u0026amp; Ramana, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Organic acids in weaned pig diets have been reported to improve growth performance (Branz et al., 2011), gastrointestinal health and a lower incidence of diarrhoea. Apart from improving growth performance, organic acids have also been shown to decrease the incidence of post-weaning disorders (PWD) in piglets. The antimicrobial action of OA plays an important role in feed preservation (Brz\u0026oacute;ska et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Essential oils (EO) are aromatic oily liquids which are associated with some antibacterial activity which results in improved performances in weaned piglets, immunity and gut microbiota diversity while reducing the incidence of diarrhoea in piglets (Li et al., 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe combination of EO and OA in feeding monogastric animals has gained much attention due to the synergetic and or additive effect on gut health and growth performance (Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). There has been an increase in studies to evaluate the effects of synergism between some OA and EO on growth performance and nutrient utilisation in pigs (Zhou, 2007; Souza et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Hul\u0026aacute;nkov\u0026aacute; \u0026amp; Bořilov\u0026aacute;, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Diao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Resende et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Zhai et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Nevertheless, due to the diversity of organic acids and essential oils being used in the different blends, it is imperative to explore the potential of the different organic acids and essential oils rather than generalise on the available information about some of these compounds. Currently, no information is available on the potential of Kalahari melon essential oils and butyric acid blend on the performance of growing pigs. The study, therefore, sought to evaluate the effect of the use of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid blend as alternative growth promotants on the growth performance and protein utilisation in weaned piglets.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExperimental site\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study was carried out at the North-West University experimental farm (Molelwane) which is located in the North-West province of South Africa. The geographical coordinates are 25\u0026deg; 28\u0026prime; 0\u0026Prime; South and 22\u0026deg; 28\u0026prime; 0\u0026Prime; East. Average minimum temperatures of3\u0026deg;C and average maximum of 38\u0026deg;C with an annual rainfall range of 300\u0026ndash;500 mm.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnimal management\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA total of 40 mixed sex Large White growing pigs aged 8 weeks were used in a twelve-week feeding trial. The growing pigs were sourced from Molelwane North West University experimental farm. The pigs were given two weeks for adaptation to the diet which was not part of the experimental period. All the pigs were allowed individual \u003cem\u003ead libitum\u003c/em\u003e access to feed and water through a self-feeder and nipple drinker throughout the experimental period. Experimental grower diets were offered from 0.5 kg per day on arrival and the amount was increased depending on average weights.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExperimental design and dietary treatments\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMixed sex Large White piglets were randomly allocated into one of the five treatments arranged in a completely randomized design and were fed individually. Each treatment had 8 replicates, and each pig was considered an experimental unit. Dietary treatments were formulated with the inclusion of antibiotic growth promoter Zinc Bacitracin (PO), organic feed additives butyric acid (BA) and Kalahari melon essential oil (EO) as follows: negative control (no growth promoter), positive control (Zinc Bacitracin growth promoter), grower diet\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;EO (0.4%), grower diet\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;BA (0.6%) and grower diet\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;BA (0.4%)\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;EO (0.6%). The diets were analyzed for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) using the protocol of the Association of Official Analytical Chemicals (AOAC). The diets and compositional analysis are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;3.1.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAntibiotic growth promoter Zinc Bacitracin was purchased from Animate Animal Health, Edenvale, Gauteng, South Africa. The essential oil, butyric acids were purchased from Nutrica Organics (Pvt Ltd), South Africa. The essential oil was extracted from \u003cem\u003eC. Lanatus\u003c/em\u003e seed using cold pressing method (Marume et al., 2020). All other dietary components were purchased from Nutri feeds, Pretoria (SA). The experimental procedure and designs of the study were approved by the North-West University Animal Production Research Ethics committee (NWU-AnimProdREC) and it was granted ethics number NWU-02010-20-A5. All institutional ,national and international guidelines for the use and care of laboratory animals was used.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeed ingredients for dietary treatments\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDietary Treatments\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIngredient (%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eKEO\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eKEBA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaize\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e68.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoya bean meal (Local)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoya bean crude oil\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSalt-(fine)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMono calcium phosphate\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCalcium carbonate\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.9\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eL-Lysine HCI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDL-Methionine\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eL-Tryptophan\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eL-Threonine\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVitamin premix\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTrace mineral premix\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCopper sulphate, 25%\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAntioxidant\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditives other\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eZinc Bacitracin\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eNutritional composition (%)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDry matter\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e93.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e93.29\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e93.44\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e93.69\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e93.99\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoisture\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.87\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.70\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.55\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.10\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e7.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCrude protein\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18.34\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18.47\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18.17\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18.84\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEther extracts\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.68\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.71\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.51\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.63\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.24\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNDF\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e20.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e19.31\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e23.94\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e20.82\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e21.56\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eADF\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.24\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.22\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.13\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.29\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNC-Negative control (no antibiotic growth promoter); PC-Positive control (antibiotic growth promoter); KEO (Kalahari melon essential oil); BA( Butyric acid); KEBA(Kalahari melon essential oil butyric acid blend\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaily feed intake was calculated as the difference in feed offered and the refusals collected each morning before the next feeding for all the experimental diets. The pigs from each pen were weighed every week so that growth rates can be computed. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated for each pig. Feed intake and weight gain were recorded every week until the termination of the experiment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeed Intake\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Feed offered \u0026ndash;Feed refusals\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBody weight gain\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Initial weight \u0026ndash;Final weight\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFeed convection ratio\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Feed intake/Weight gain\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eProtein utilisation efficiency\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProtein consumed (PC g/pig) was calculated by multiplying the concentration of crude protein (CPd) in the diet (g/kg DM consumed) by feed intake over the feeding phase, protein efficiency ratio (PER g/kg) was calculated by dividing mean body weight gain (BWG) by the mean protein consumed. Specific growth rate (SGR), which is percent growth per feeding phase and growth efficiency (GE) was calculated using the following formulas:\u003cdiv id=\"Equa\" class=\"Equation\"\u003e\u003cdiv format=\"TEX\" class=\"mathdisplay\" id=\"FileID_Equa\" name=\"EquationSource\"\u003e\n$$\\:\\text{P}\\text{C}=FI\\:\\times\\:CPd$$\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePER = \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\frac{\\:BWG\\:}{PC\\:}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSGR \u003cem\u003e=\u003c/em\u003e \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\frac{(In\\:final\\:weight\\:-\\:In\\:\\:initial\\:weight)\\:}{84\\:d\\:}\\times\\:100\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGE \u003cem\u003e=\u003c/em\u003e \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:\\frac{\\:BWG\\:}{Initial\\:weight\\:}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll data were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis (SAS, 2010) and comparisons particularly the GLM procedures for once-off data and the mixed model for repeated measures. PDIFF option of SAS was used for separation of means while contrasts were used to assess the specific effects of organic acids and essential oils on the different parameters. For all tests, the level of significance was set at (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). The following 2 models were used for data analysis: Model 1 for repeated measures taking time into consideration and Model 2 for once-off data with diet as the main factor:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Taba\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eY\u003csub\u003eijk\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026micro;\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;T\u003csub\u003ei\u003c/sub\u003e+ W\u003csub\u003ej\u003c/sub\u003e + (\u003cem\u003eT* W\u003c/em\u003e)\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e + εijk\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhere: Y\u003csub\u003eijk\u003c/sub\u003e = feed intake, weight gain, \u0026micro;\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;population mean constant common to the observation, Ti\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;effect of diet, W\u003csub\u003ej\u003c/sub\u003e=effect of week, T*W\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e = effect of diet interacting with week and εij\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;random error term.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Tabb\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYij\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026micro;\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;T\u003csub\u003ei\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;ε\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhere: Y\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e = SGR,GE, \u0026micro;\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;population mean constant common to all observations, T\u003csub\u003ei\u003c/sub\u003e = effect of diet, and ε\u003csub\u003eij\u003c/sub\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;random error term.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFeed intake and Growth performance\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid blend in growing pigs are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Dietary treatments significantly influenced growth performance parameters during the feeding period. Pigs fed the EOOA blend had the highest (1.10\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.01 kg) average daily feed intake (ADFI) followed by those fed the OA diet (1.07\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.01). NC treatment group had the lowest (0.55\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.01) ADFI. Similarly, the highest average daily gain (ADG) and total weight gain (TWG) were obtained in piglets fed the EOOA (0.62\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.01) diet followed by those fed the OA diet. .with the NC-fed piglets having the lowest. In comparison with the PC-fed pigs, the pigs fed EO, OA and EOOA dietary treatments had significantly lower FCR. The lowest (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) FCR was obtained in pigs in the NC treatment. The effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid on the cumulative weight gain (CWG) of pigs is presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. A linear increase in weight gain was observed in all dietary treatments over the experimental period. EOOA and OA had the highest cumulative weight gain throughout the experimental period whilst NC treatment had the lowest CWG. For all parameters, the pigs fed the NC diet consistently had the lowest values followed by those fed the PC diet.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEffect of Kalahari melon essential oil and Butyric acid blend on growth performance in growing pigs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDietary Treatments\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePARAMETER\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eKEO\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eKEBA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSIG\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eADFI (kg)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.55\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.86\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.97\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.07\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.10\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eADG (kg/d)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.34\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.47\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.55\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.60\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.62\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTWG(kg)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e23.77\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e32.98\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e38.58\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e42.34\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e44.03\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.67\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFCR\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.97\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.49\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.30\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.30\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.15\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.88\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e**\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003ea, b\u003c/sup\u003e means in the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). ***(\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.0005),** (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.005),*(\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) and NS-no significant difference. ADFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Average daily feed intake, ADG\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Average daily gain, TWG\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Total weight gain, FCR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Feed conversion ratio. NC -Negative control (without growth promoter), PC-Positive control (with growth promoter), KEO-Kalahari melon essential oil, BA- Butyric acid, KEBA-Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid blend.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eProtein Utilisation and Growth efficiency\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results of protein utilisation and growth efficiency are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. Dietary treatment significantly (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected protein utilisation and growth efficiency. Protein consumed was lowest in the NC (10.10\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.24) and highest in EOOA (20.75\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.24) treatment group respectively. Dietary treatments affected the PER with the piglets fed the EO diet having the highest values and GE was, however, highest in pigs fed the EOOA diet followed by those fed the OA and EO diets. For all parameters, the piglets fed the EOOA diet outperformed the positive control followed by those fed the OA and EO diets.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEffect of Kalahari melon essential oil and Butyric acid blend on protein\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"8\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDietary Treatments\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eParameter\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePC\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEO\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eEOOA\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSIG\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePC (kg)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.10\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15.94\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e16.66\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e19.54\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e20.75\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.24\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePER\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.50\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.52\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.61\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.58\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.58\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSGR(% d\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e )\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e28.28\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e39.26\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e45.93\u003csup\u003eab\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e50.39\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e50.75\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.04\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.72\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.39\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.53\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.39\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.89\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e***\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003eabc\u003c/sup\u003e Means in the same row with different superscripts are significantly different (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). ***(\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.0005),** (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.005),*(\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) and NS-no significant difference PC- Protein consumed, PER - Protein efficiency ratio, SGR - Specific growth rate, GE -Growth efficiency. NC -Negative control (without growth promoter), PC-Positive control (with growth promoter), EO-Kalahari melon essential oil, OA- Butyric acid, EOOA-Kalahari melon essential oil and Butyric acid blend.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOrganic acids and essential oils have been regarded as potential substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters in pig production. As expected in the current study, the pigs in the PC treatment group showed improved performance compared to the NC treatment group. This is because the alternative growth promoters (AGPs) can inhibit and destroy pathogenic bacteria in the gastro intestinal tract (GIT) resulting in improved feed utilisation Upadhaya et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), state that improved ADG is associated with reduced pathogenic microbes in the GIT. However, FAO, (2004) states that their continued use leads to the local bacterial population becoming resistant. As a replacement for the conventional antibiotics, the positive effect of EO, OA and EOOA to ADFI, ADG, TWG and FCR in the current study was apparent.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen compared with the positive control, the pigs fed diets containing essential oils and organic acids appeared to consistently outperform their counterparts in terms of growth performance. This can be attributed to two mechanisms, stimulation of digestive enzymes and stabilisation of the gut ecosystem (Zhai et al., 2018). Essential oils have the potential to trigger the secretion of digestive enzymes hence improving nutrient digestion. The activity of trypsin and lipase is increased by the inclusion of essential oils in pig or broiler. Hampempor et al. (2013) also reported that essential oils stimulate activities and secretions of digestive enzymes including amylase and protease. Moreover, essential oils can regulate the gene expression profile of ileal mucosa stimulating nutrient digestion (Jaing et al., 2015). On the other hand, organic acids have been shown to provide an acidic environment in the stomach that activates increased digestive enzyme activity. They also have the effect of stimulating serum secretin content and improved pancreatic secretion (Papatsiros et al., 2012). Pig in the EOOA treatment group had better performance compared to the rest. This can be attributed to the combined effect of both the essential oil and organic acid in optimising growth performance. Similar results were obtained in other studies using other essentials oils and organic acids (Moquet et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Xia et al.,2016; Xu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Xu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Zhai et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Emili et al., 2021; Su et al., 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The results on protein utilisation and growth efficiency followed a similar trend to those on growth performance in the pigs. From the results, pigs fed the diets containing essential oils, organic acid and their blend consistently outperformed the pigs given the positive control diet. This can be attributed to the influence of essential oils and organic acids in stimulating and increasing pancreatic secretion resulting in increased enzyme activity and protein digestion. This ultimately resulted in improved protein utilisation and growth efficiency in growing the pigs confirming the potential of organic acids and essential oils as an alternative to AGPs. Organic acids reduce gastric pH resulting in shortened intestinal transit by increasing gastric retention and enhancing proteolytic enzymes (Xu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). A lower rate of gastric depuration will cause protein molecules to hydrolyse more efficiently resulting in a beneficial effect on digestion, absorption and retention of amino acids (Xu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Thaela et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e) also observed that supplementation of OA in pig diets increased the secretion of trypsin and chymotrypsin. Moreover, Low pH enhances the inhibition of pathogenic bacteria reducing their metabolic needs thereby increasing nutrient availability to host animals and enhancing growth (Adil et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e). Essential oils stimulate the production of digestive secretions and increase enzymatic activity. Increased activity of the digestive enzymes improved digestibility and availability of nutrients (Costa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003ea). Dietary supplementation of essential oils increased the number of parietal cells hence increasing nutrient digestibility and utilisation (Trevisi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). A blend of essential oils and organic acids was previously reported to increase N retention as they lower GIT pH and improve the action of pepsin and trypsin (Kwak et al., 2017; Han et al., 2018; Xu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe findings of the study indicated that essential oils, organic acids and their blend can significantly influence, growth performance and protein utilisation efficiency, an increase in ADFI, ADG PC, PER and growth efficiency are indicative of the potential of Kalahari melon essential oil, butyric acid as substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). However, there is a need to evaluate the effect of Kalahari melon essential oil, butyric acid and their blend on blood haematology, liver function and serum biochemistry as they are correlated to growth performance and gut health.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to concerns regarding data privacy but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank the Department of Biochemistry, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North West University for their support and assistance with our laboratory analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe manuscript was extracted from the first author thesis that was financially supported by North West University School of Agricultural science, Department of Animal Science.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor information\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors and Affiliations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDepartment of Animal Sciences, School of Agriculture Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology, North West University, P Bag X 2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa Nhara Rumbidzai Blessing and Marume Upenyu\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll authors contributed to manuscript review, editing, final proofreading and approving for submission. Conceptualization: NRB \u0026amp;MU Methodology: NRB \u0026amp; MU Formal Analysis: MU Data Curation: MU Writing-Original Draft: NRB. Writing \u0026ndash; Review and Editing: NRB \u0026amp; MU\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;Corresponding author\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence to Nhara Rumbidzai Blessing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics declarations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe experimental procedure and designs of the study were approved by the North-West University Animal Production Research Ethics committee (NWU-AnimProdREC) and it was granted ethics number NWU-02010-20-A5.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interest.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdil S., Banday T., Bhat G.A., Mir M.S., \u0026amp; Rehman M. 2010. 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Synergistic Effect of Thymol and Carvacrol Combined with Chelators and Organic Acids against Salmonella Typhimurium. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Food Protection\u003c/em\u003e, 70(7), pp.1704-1709.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Kalahari melon essential oil, Butyric acid, growth performance, protein utilisation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7216091/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7216091/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA study was conducted to determine the effect of Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid growth promoters on growth performance and protein utilisation in growing pigs. Forty growing mixed sex large white weaned piglets were weighed and randomly allocated to five dietary treatments NC-negative control (no growth promoter), PC- (antibiotic growth promoter), KEO-Kalahari melon essential oil (0.4%), BA- butyric acid (0.6%) and KEOA Kalahari melon essential oil (0.4%)\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Butyric acid (0.6%) and each pig was considered an experimental unit. Dietary treatments significantly influenced growth performance (\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). Dietary treatment significantly (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) affected protein utilisation and growth efficiency. Specific growth rate (SGR) significantly differed (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.0005) for all dietary treatments and growth efficiency (GE) was high in KEOA (4.89\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.12) and lowest in NC (3.72\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.12). The findings indicate that Kalahari melon essential oil and butyric acid growth promoters can influence protein, nutrient utilisation and growth performance at comparable rate as antibiotic growth promoters in growing pigs.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Effect of Kalahari Melon Essential Oil and Butyric Acid on Growth Performance and Protein Utilisation Efficiency in Growing Pigs","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-08 09:48:04","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7216091/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d59f5905-c284-4a29-81fc-8ef81fde8e2e","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 8th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-31T10:08:15+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-08 09:48:04","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7216091","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7216091","identity":"rs-7216091","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}