Effects of dietary inulin during late gestation on sow physiology, farrowing duration and piglet performance

Revealing the mechanism of fiber promoting sow embryo implantation by altering the abundance of uterine fluid proteins: A proteomic perspective

Many studies have shown that fiber in the diet plays an important role in improving the reproductive performance of sows, but there is rarely research on the impact of fiber on early embryo implantation. This study used 4D-Label free technology to identify and analyze the effect of the fiber composition in the diet on the protein in the early pregnancy uterine fluid (UF) of sows. The results indicate that ratio of insoluble fibers to soluble fibers (ISF/SF) 4.89 can increase the concentration of progesterone (PROG) and reduce tumor necrosis factorα (TNF-α) concentration in sow UF. In addition, through 4D-Label free, we identified a total of 4248 proteins, 38 proteins abundance upregulated and 283 proteins abundance downregulated in UF. Through enrichment analysis of these differential abundance proteins (DAPs), it was found that these differential proteins are mainly related to the docking of extracellular vesicles, vesicular transport, inflammatory response, and insulin resistance. Therefore, the results of this study reveal the possible mechanism by which fiber improves the reproductive performance of sows, laying a theoretical foundation for future research on the effects of diet on reproduction. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates the importance of dietary fiber for early embryo implantation in sows. The effect of dietary ISF/SF on early embryo implantation in sows was elucidated from a proteomic perspective through 4D-Label free technology. This study not only has significant implications for improving sow reproductive efficiency, but also provides important theoretical references for studying early miscarriage and reproductive nutrition in human pregnancy.

Supplementation with Complex Dietary Fiber during Late Pregnancy and Lactation Can Improve Progeny Growth Performance by Regulating Maternal Antioxidant Status and Milk Quality

This study investigated the nutritional benefits of complex dietary fiber (beta-glucan and fructo-oligosaccharides, CDF) supplementation in sows and piglets during late pregnancy and lactation. Twenty-four sows were randomly divided into two groups: the control group was fed a basal diet (n = 12), and the experimental group was fed a CDF diet (0.25% CDF replaced the same proportion of corn in the basal diet, n = 12). Dietary treatment was given from day 107 of pregnancy to day 25 of lactation. The results of this experiment showed that CDF increased the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of sows during lactation and the weaning body weight (BW) and average daily gain of piglets. Dietary CDF supplementation improved the antioxidant capacity and immune level of sows and decreased the serum zonulin level. Dietary supplementation with CDF increased the levels of antioxidant activity, immunoglobulin, and anti-inflammatory factor interleukin-10 (IL-10) in milk. Meanwhile, piglets in the CDF group had increased serum antioxidant activity, immunoglobulin, and growth-related hormone levels; decreased malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and D-lactic acid (D-LA) levels; and increased fecal short-chain fatty acid content. In addition, the CDF group increased the diversity of microorganisms in sow feces. In conclusion, the supplementation of a diet with CDF in late pregnancy and lactation can alleviate the oxidative stress of sows, improve milk quality, and have significant positive effects on the antioxidant capacity and growth performance of piglets.

Effects of dietary fiber in gestating sow diets - A review

The objective of this review was to provide an overview of the effects of dietary fiber (DF) on reproductive performance in gestating sows. Dietary fibers have been suggested to modulate microbiota in the intestine and the immune system of gestating sows and to improve gut health. Thus, DF may help alleviate the adverse effects of the stressful production cycle of gestating sows. These benefits may subsequently result in improved reproductive performance of sows. Previous studies have reported changes in microbiota by providing gestating sows with DF, and the responses of microbiota varied depending on the source of DF. The responses by providing DF to gestating sows were inconsistent for antioxidative capacity, hormonal response, and inflammatory response among the studies. The effects of DF on reproductive performance were also inconsistent among the previous studies. Potential reasons contributing to these inconsistent results would include variability in reproductive performance data, insufficient replication, influence of other nutrients contained in the DF diets, characteristics of DF, and experimental periods. The present meta-analysis suggests that increasing the total DF concentration by 10 percentage units (e.g., 12% to 22% as-fed basis) in gestating sow diets compared to the control group improves the litter born alive by 0.49 pigs per litter. However, based on the present review, questions remain regarding the benefits of fibers in gestating sow diets. Further research is warranted to clarify the mode of action of fibers and the association with subsequent reproductive performance in gestating sows.

The Effect of Prebiotic Supplements on the Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Associated Health Parameters in Pigs

Establishing a balanced and diverse microbiota in the GIT of pigs is crucial for optimizing health and performance throughout the production cycle. The post-weaning period is a critical phase, as it is often associated with dysbiosis, intestinal dysfunction and poor performance. Traditionally, intestinal dysfunctions associated with weaning have been alleviated using antibiotics and/or antimicrobials. However, increasing concerns regarding the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria has prompted an industry-wide drive towards identifying natural sustainable dietary alternatives. Modulating the microbiota through dietary intervention can improve animal health by increasing the production of health-promoting metabolites associated with the improved microbiota, while limiting the establishment and proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. Prebiotics are a class of bioactive compounds that resist digestion by gastrointestinal enzymes, but which can still be utilized by beneficial microbes within the GIT. Prebiotics are a substrate for these beneficial microbes and therefore enhance their proliferation and abundance, leading to the increased production of health-promoting metabolites and suppression of pathogenic proliferation in the GIT. There are a vast range of prebiotics, including carbohydrates such as non-digestible oligosaccharides, beta-glucans, resistant starch, and inulin. Furthermore, the definition of a prebiotic has recently expanded to include novel prebiotics such as peptides and amino acids. A novel class of -biotics, referred to as "stimbiotics", was recently suggested. This bioactive group has microbiota-modulating capabilities and promotes increases in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in a disproportionally greater manner than if they were merely substrates for bacterial fermentation. The aim of this review is to characterize the different prebiotics, detail the current understating of stimbiotics, and outline how supplementation to pigs at different stages of development and production can potentially modulate the GIT microbiota and subsequently improve the health and performance of animals.

The improvement of parturition duration by high intake of dietary fibre in late gestation is associated with gut microbiota and metabolome in sows

Prolonged parturition duration has been widely demonstrated to be a risk factor for incidence of stillbirth. This study evaluated the supply of dietary fibre on the parturition duration, gut microbiota and metabolome using sows as a model. A total of 40 Yorkshire sows were randomly given diet containing normal level of dietary fibre (NDF, 17·5 % dietary fibre) or high level of dietary fibre (HDF, 33·5 % dietary fibre). Faecal microbiota profiled with 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, SCFA and metabolome in the faeces and plasma around parturition were compared between the dietary groups. Correlation analysis was conducted to further explore the potential associations between specific bacterial taxa and metabolites. Results showed that HDF diet significantly improved the parturition process as presented by the shorter parturition duration. HDF diet increased the abundance of the phyla Bacteroidetes and Synergistetes and multiple genera. Except for butyrate, SCFA levels in the faeces and plasma of sows at parturition were elevated in HDF group. The abundances of fifteen and twelve metabolites in the faeces and plasma, respectively, markedly differ between HDF and NDF sows. These metabolites are involved in energy metabolism and bacterial metabolism. Correlation analysis also showed associations between specific bacteria taxa and metabolites. Collectively, our study indicates that the improvement of parturition duration by high fibre intake in late gestation is associated with gut microbiota, production of SCFA and other metabolites, potentially serving for energy metabolism.

Nutritional strategies to alleviate oxidative stress in sows

The performance of high-yielding sows is directly related to the productivity of pig farming. Fetal development mainly occurs during the last month of pregnancy, and the aggressive metabolic burden of sows during this stage eventually leads to systemic oxidative stress. When affected by oxidative stress, sows exhibit adverse symptoms such as reduced feed intake, hindered fetal development, and even abortion. In addition, milk synthesis during the lactation period causes a severe metabolic burden. The biological response to oxidative stress during this period is associated with a decrease in milk production, which further affects the growth of piglets. Understanding the nutritional strategies to alleviate oxidative stress in sows is crucial to maintain their reproduction and lactation performance. Recently, advances have been made in the field of nutrition to relieve oxidative stress in sows during late pregnancy and lactation. This review highlights the nutritional strategies to relieve oxidative stress in sows reported within the last 20 years.

Supplementing daidzein in diets improves the reproductive performance, endocrine hormones and antioxidant capacity of multiparous sows

Certain hormones play important roles in modulating mammalian reproductive behaviour. Daidzein is a well-known isoflavonic phytoestrogen that possesses oestrogenic activity. This study was conducted to probe the effects of daidzein supplementation in gestation diets on the reproductive performance in sows. A total of 120 multiparous sows (Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly assigned to 2 groups (n = 60) and fed either a base diet (control) or one containing 200 mg/kg daidzein during gestation. We discovered that daidzein supplementation significantly increased the total number of piglets born per litter and number of piglets born alive per litter (P < 0.05), decreased the farrowing time (P < 0.05) and increased the serum oestrogen and progesterone concentrations (P < 0.05) at 35 d of gestation. Moreover, serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were higher in the daidzein-treated group than in the control group at 35 d of gestation (P < 0.05). Daidzein increased the serum SOD activity and total anti-oxidative capacity (T-AOC) at 85 d of gestation (P < 0.05). Interestingly, daidzein elevated the expression levels of the sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter 1 (SLC38A1) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) genes in the placenta (P < 0.05). These results suggest that daidzein ingestion could improve sow reproductive performance by changing serum hormones, elevating anti-oxidative capacity and up-regulating critical functional genes in the placenta.

The differences in energy metabolism and redox status between sows with short and long farrowing duration

Farrowing duration is a crucial factor affecting survival of piglets and health of sows, and is highly correlated with the incidence of stillbirth. The present study assessed the metabolic characteristics of sows with short farrowing duration (SFD) or long farrowing duration (LFD). A total of 20 Yorkshire sows were screened from 60 sows and were retrospectively allocated into SFD (211 min on average, n = 10) or LFD (388 min on average, n = 10) group. Parameters associated with energy metabolism and redox status were characterised. Results showed that sows at farrowing had decreased plasma concentrations of glucose, triglyceride, acetate, butyrate and total short-chain fatty acids (P < 0.05), but increased concentrations of lactic acid and propionate (P < 0.05), when compared with sows on day 107 of gestation. The SFD sows had shorter time from last meal until the onset of farrowing (P < 0.05) and tended to have less stillbirths (P = 0.08) and lower stillbirth rate (P = 0.07). For the blood metabolites, SFD sows at farrowing had higher concentration of plasma glucose (P < 0.05), but lower concentration of lactic acid (P < 0.05) than LFD sows. Besides, SFD sows tended to have higher plasma malondialdehyde concentration (P = 0.06) than LFD sows. Correlation analysis showed that farrowing duration was negatively correlated with plasma glucose concentration at onset of farrowing. In conclusion, our study strongly suggests that glucose is a key metabolite for energy metabolism of the uterus during farrowing. The farrowing process could be closely related to uterine energy expenditure, and sows with shorter farrowing duration could be resulting from the shorter time from last meal until the onset of farrowing, associated with a greater proportion of energy from glucose.

Dietary Inulin Regulated Gut Microbiota and Improved Neonatal Health in a Pregnant Sow Model

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal dietary fiber intake and piglet health. Multiparous sows were randomly assigned to two groups and fed diets without inulin (control group, n = 20) or 1.6% inulin (1.6IN group, n = 20). The results indicate that 1.6IN prevented the prolonged farrowing duration of sows (P < 0.05) and shortened the average piglet birth interval (P < 0.1). In addition, 1.6IN decreased the percentage of the piglet born weak and the percentage of the piglet with hyperthermia after birth (P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the 1.6IN group had a lower concentration of urea nitrogen in the colostrum, and also prevented diarrhea, increased litter gain, survival rate, and average daily gain for suckling piglets (P < 0.05). Furthermore, 1.6IN decreased the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, and Streptococcus; increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Desulfovibrio, Paludibacter, CF231, and Prevotella. Overall, this study showed that maternal fiber nutrition during pregnancy regulated the health of offspring, and the response of the maternal intestinal microbes played an important role in intervening in the phenotype of sows and neonatal piglets.

Physiological function and application of dietary fiber in pig nutrition: A review

Dietary fiber (DF), divided into soluble dietary fiber (SDF) and insoluble dietary fiber (IDF), has attracted increasing attention in the field of pig nutrition. Although DF reduces nutrient digestibility and inhibits energy deposition in most cases, fiber-rich feeds have been widely used in pig diets. This is not only because of lower feed costs, but also from the continuous discovery about the nutritional value of DF, mainly including the improvement of piglet intestinal health and sow reproductive performance. The addition timing has also been further considered, which potentially enables the nutritional value of DF to be accurately used in applicable pig models. Furthermore, fiber degrading enzymes have been shown to alleviate the anti-nutritional effects of DF and have ensured the improvement effect of fiber on intestinal health in young piglet models. However, the regulatory effect of fiber on pork quality is still unclear, which requires consideration of the wide range of fiber sources and the complexity of the basic diet composition, as well as the impact of pig breeds. Taken together, future research needs to gain more insight into the combined effects of SDF and IDF, processing methods, and addition timing to improve the nutritional value of DF, and further explore the physiological functions and regulatory mechanisms of DF fermentation products short-chain fatty acids in pigs.