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African Journal of Pig Farming ISSN 2375-0731 Vol. 7 (1), pp. 001-004, January, 2019. Available online at 
www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals 

 

Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. 

 

 

Review 

 

Greek experience of the use of phytogenic feed 
additives in organic pig farming 

 
V. G. Papatsiros1*, E. D. Tzika2, P. D. Tassis2, D. Kantas3, L. C. Filippopoulos4 

and D. S. Papaioannou5 
 

1
Clinic of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, 43100, Karditsa, Greece. 

2
Farm Animal Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. 

3
Department of Animal Production, Technological Educational Institute of Larissa, Greece. 
4
Research Associate Technical Manager, PROVET, Vrago, Aspropyrgos, Attica Greece. 

5
Department of Obstetrics and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Thessaly, Greece. 

 
Accepted 03 December, 2018 

 
The purpose of this study is to present brief updating information about the use of phytogenic feed 
additives in Greek organic pig farming. Organic pig production systems in Greece are growing in 
popularity over the last years due to the increasing interest of consumers for organic products. The 
National Greek projects of organic pig farming started in 2002 and since then it has increased, 
representing the 15% of the total organic livestock production. Phytogenic feed additives are plant-
derived products used in animal feeding to improve the performance of agricultural livestock. This 
class of feed additives has recently gained increasing interest, especially for use in pigs. During the last 
few years the number of Greek pig organic farmers who use phytogenic feed additives as potential 
alternatives to antibiotics for prevention and control enteric diseases and as growth promoters, is 
increased. 

 
Key words: Organic farming, pig, phytogenic feed additives, Greece. 

 
 
INTRODUCTION 

 
In view of organic livestock farming, Greece has many 
advantages in comparison to the other European 
countries, the temperate climate and the wide and rich 
ecosystems in countryside. For thousands of years, 
outdoor pig farming has been one of the most important 
livestock production sectors in Greece. Since the 60s, the 
introduction of high-yielding pig genotypes, under 
intensive production systems, has replaced almost to 
disappearance the traditional outdoor pig farms, which 
were based on the native pig breed. The practice of 
organic pig production systems in Greece is growing in 
popularity over the last years due to the increasing 
interest of consumers for products considered as  
 
 
 
*Corresponding author. E-mail: vpapatsiros@vet.uth.gr. 

 
 
 
 

 
traditional. The National Greek projects of organic pig 
farming started in 2002 and since then it has increased, 
representing the 15% of the total organic livestock 
production. Based on the data of Greek Ministry of Rural 
Development and Foods, in 2002 the population of 
organic pigs was just 1,288, but in 2006 to 2007 it 
increased to a 175.000 (DOA, 2009).  

The most common health problems that occur in the 
Greek organic pig farming due to the different 
management strategies from conventional production in 
terms of, for example, feeding, access to outdoor areas, 
weaning age and no use of preventive medication with 
antibiotics (Papatsiros, 2011). Majority of them include 
mainly piglet mortality, parasitic infections, as well as 
respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin problems. Causes of 
high piglet mortality are mainly various diarrhoea 
syndromes in suckling and weaning piglets and skin 



 
 
 

 

traumas or crushing of piglets by sows. Escherichia coli, 
Clostridium peifringens and parasites are involved in the 
risk factors of diarrhoea in weaned pigs. Common are 
also respiratory problems (mainly due to Mycoplasma 
Hyopneumoniae, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and 
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus), 
with usually sign in growing and finishing pigs 
(Papatsiros, 2011).  

Phytogenic feed additives (often also called 
phytobiotics or botanicals) are commonly defined as 
plant-derived compounds incorporated into diets to 
improve the productivity of livestock through amelioration 
of feed properties, promotion of the animals’ production 
performance and improving the quality of food derived 
from those animals (Windisch et al., 2008). Phytogenic 
feed additives include herbs, which are non-woody 
flowering plants known to have medicinal properties such 
as; herbs (flowering, non-woody, and non-persistent 
plants), spices (herbs with an intensive smell or taste 
commonly added to human food), essential oils (aromatic 
oily liquids derived from plant materials such as flowers, 
leaves, fruits and roots), or oleoresins (extracts derived 
by non-aqueous solvents from plant material) (Windisch 
et al., 2008; Jacela et al., 2010). Two of the most 
common phytogenic substances evaluated in swine 
include the spices oregano and thyme (Tsinas et al., 
1998; Jugl-Chizzola et al., 2005; Hagmuller et al., 2006; 
Neill et al., 2006; Windisch et al., 2008; Papatsiros et al., 
2009). The aim of this study is to present, for the first 
time, brief updating information about the use of 
phytogenic feed additives in Greek organic pig farming. 
Furthermore, it focuses on their beneficial effects on 
prophylaxis of swine diseases as well as on growth 
performance. 
 

 

PHYTOGENIC FEED ADDITIVES: BENEFICIAL 
EFFECTS ON SWINE 

 

The mode of action of most phytogenic feed additives is 
still not fully understood, but antimicrobial, antioxidative, 
and growth-promoting effects in swine have already been 
reported (Windisch et al., 2008; Jacela et al., 2010). The 
most well known potential mechanisms of their action are 
as follows: 
 

 

Antimicrobial effects 

 

Oregano and thyme are among those which have 
received a great deal of interest (Tsinas et al., 1998; 
Hagmuller et al., 2006; Neill et al., 2006; Windisch et al., 
2008; Papatsiros et al., 2009). These plants contain the 
monoterpenes carvacrol and thymol, respectively, and 
have demonstrated high efficacy in vitro against several 
pathogens found in the intestinal tract (Baratta et al., 
1998; Burt, 2004; Namkung et al., 2004; Jugl-Chizzola et 

  
  

 
 

 

al., 2005). 
 

 

Antioxidative effects 

 

phytogenic feed additives derived from plants high in 
terpenes (such as rosemary, oregano and thyme) have 
anti-oxidative properties, mainly due to their phenolic 
terpenes (Aeschbach et al., 1994; Jimenez-Alvarez et al., 
2008; Windisch et al., 2008; Frankic et al., 2009). In 
addition, phytogenic feed additives derived from the 
Labiatae plant family containing herbal phenolic 
compounds to improve the oxidative stability of pork meat 
(Janz et al., 2007). 
 

 

Growth-promoting effects 

 

Growth-promoting effects (increased feed intake, 
improved gut function and dietary palatability):their 
stimulatory effect on feed intake is probably due to the 
improvement in the dietary palatability of resulting from 
the enhanced flavor and odor, especially with the use of 
essential oils (Kroismayr et al., 2007; Frankic et al., 
2009). Recent studies indicated, also stabilizing effects of 
phytogenic feed additives (essential oils and oleoresins) 
on the ecosystem and the activity of gastrointestinal 
microbial flora of swine (Manzanilla et al., 2004; 
Namkung et al., 2004; Castillo et al., 2006; Kroismayr et 
al., 2007) associated with a decrease in microbial activity 
in the gastrointestinal gut. Improvement in gut function is 
mainly attributed to the possible stimulatory effect of 
phytogenic substances on digestive secretions, such as 
digestive enzymes, bile, and mucus (Platel and 
Srinivasan, 2004). 
 

 

USE OF PHYTOGENIC FEED ADDITIVES IN GREEK 
ORGANIC PIG FARMING 

 

Disease prevalence and veterinary treatments in organic 
animal production differ from conventional systems. Since 
the use of antibiotics and antiparasitic drugs is 
undesirable in organic pig production, the main focus is 
on prevention of diseases and parasites and applying 
appropriate feeding and housing standards (European 
Commission, 2004). Therefore, among the alternatives to 
chemically synthesized allopathic veterinary medical 
products, plant extracts and essential oils also called 
phytogenics, have received greater attention in recent 
years. During the last few years the number of Greek pig 
organic farmers using phytogenic feed additives as 
potential alternatives to antibiotics is increased. Based on 
our experience, we support that the use of the above 
products can have significant antimicrobial activity 
against bacteria (especially Gram, mainly Escherichia 
coli), antioxidative action, as well as enhance dietary 



 
 
 

 

palatability, improve the gut functions and promote 
growth performance and carcass quality of pigs 
(Papatsiros et al., 2009; Tzika et al., 2010a,b,c; Kantas et 
al., 2011).  

For example, the results of our field trial study, with the 
use flavouring material containing plant extracts of 
Origanum vulgaris and Allium sativum in the diet of 
weaning and growing pigs, indicated reduction of 
prevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis in the intestine and 
the diarrhoea score (DS), as well as improvement of 
growth performance and carcass quality (increased body 
weight and average daily gain) (Papatsiros et al., 2009). 
In a previous study, the use of a natural, plant-derived 
feed additive in the feed at inclusion rate of 50 ppm, had 
considerable beneficial effects on growth performance of 
weaned piglets, including a significant increase in body 
weight of piglets and the average daily gain as well as a 
reduction in feed conversion ratio (Kantas et al., 2011). In 
addition, possible anti-inflammatory activity of larch 
sawdust, echinacea, pumpkin, salix, sinupret and grape 
seed, in order to reduce incidence of post-partum 
dysgalactia syndrome, were investigated (Tzika et al., 
2010a, b, c).  

The in-feed use of larch did not show a clear positive 
antimicrobial effect against L. intracellularis infection in 
growing pigs, although the 3rd group (adding larch in 
2.5%) had less positive blood samples from pigs at 14th 
week of age relatively to the control group. However, for 
the overall trial period, productivity parameters and DS of 
larch-fed pigs were improved relatively to the negative 
controls (Tzika et al., 2010a). Moreover, the results of the 
trial showed that pumpkin at 1 and 2.5% inclusion rates 
did not show a clear positive antimicrobial effect against 
E. coli infection in weaners (Tzika et al., 2010b). Finally, 
the use of larch sawdust in the diet of sows results 
showed that sows fed with had an improvement tendency 
in performance and health parameters (for example, 
average litter body weight, post partum temperatures) 
compared to the control group. Additionally, there was a 
significant decrease of serum IL6 and plasma Tumor 
Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNFα) concentrations at 24 and 
72 h PP, probably due to larch sawdust anti-inflammatory 
activity (Tzika et al., 2010c). 
 

 

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS 

 

The rapid growth of the popularity of organic farming can 
also be considered a major driving factor for the 
increased necessity of alternative control measures. In 
recent years, phytogenic feed additives have attracted 
increasing interest as an alternative feeding strategy to 
replace antibiotic growth promoters. This has occurred 
especially in the European Union, where antibiotics have 
been banned completely from use as additives in 
livestock feed since 2006, because of a suspected risk of 
generating microbial floara with increased resistance to 

 
 
 
 

 

the antibiotics used for therapy in humans and animals. 
The organic pig farming is a new interesting market for 
phytogenic feed additives around the world and in 
Greece, as these products could be used as alternatives 
to antibiotics for prevention and control of enteric 
diseases, as well as growth promoters.  

The phytogenic feed additives market will certainly 
continue growing in the next years but in our view, special 
attention needs to be paid to the following aspects: 
(A) Focusing on well-designed clinical field trials to prove 
the safety and efficacy of phytogenic feed additives, in 
parallel to a cost-benefit evaluation. However, over the 
last decade, the global interest in organic livestock 
farming and phytogenic agents has attracted the attention 
of many pharmaceutical companies, and it is estimated 
that their efficacy and safety will be proved and improved 
in the near future.  
(B) Promoting the use of phytogenic feed additives in 
organic pig farming, as it agrees with today consumer 
demands for more environmental friendly pig production, 
supporting at the same time farmers needs for increased 
and cost effective production. 
 

 
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