Effect of dietary inclusion of benzoic acid on mineral balance in growing pigs

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of benzoic acid on utilization of the macrominerals Ca, P, Mg, K, Na, and Cl in growing pigs. Eighteen barrows, initial BW of 28 ± 1.7 kg, were assigned to 3 diets: a basal diet based on barley, wheat, soybean meal, corn, and field pea and formulated to contain 9.31 MJ NE kg − 1 and 8.84 g − 1  kg standardized ileal digestible lysine, or the basal diet containing 10 or 20 g kg − 1 benzoic acid by replacing tapioca starch. The pigs were fed the experimental diets a rate of 2.7 times the maintenance requirement for ME for 21 days. Faeces and urine were collected quantitatively from days 11 to 21, and blood and plasma was collected on days 1, 10, and 21. On day 21, the pigs were killed and the left femur was removed. Benzoic acid linearly decreased ( P  = 0.001) the urine pH from 7.32 to 5.32, and quadratically increased ( P P P P P P  = 0.001) plasma P and quadratically increased ( P P  = 0.05) plasma Na. Benzoic acid linearly reduced ( P P P