Olive oil bioactives protect pigs against experimentally-induced chronic inflammation independently of alterations in gut microbiota.

Subclinical chronic inflammation (SCI) is associated with impaired animal growth. Previous work has demonstrated that olive-derived plant bioactives exhibit anti-inflammatory properties that could possibly counteract the growth-depressing effects of SCI. To test this hypothesis and define the underlying mechanism, we conducted a 30-day study in which piglets fed an olive-oil bioactive extract (OBE) and their control counterparts (C+) were injected repeatedly during the last 10 days of the study with increasing doses of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to induce SCI.