Supplementing sow diets with palm oil during late gestation and lactation: effects on milk production, sow hormonal profiles and growth and development of her offspring

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.

Effect of Supplementary Feeding on Milk Volume, Milk Composition, Blood Biochemical Index, and Fecal Microflora Diversity in Grazing Yili Mares

Grazing is a common approach to rearing. We investigated the effects of supplementation during grazing on milk yield and composition, blood biochemistry, and fecal microflora in Yili horses. The control mares grazed normally, while those in groups I and II received 1 kg/d of concentrate and 1 kg/d of concentrate + 0.4 kg/d of coated FA, respectively. Milk volumes were significantly higher in groups I and II than in the control group, and among the previous two, milk volumes were significantly higher in group II than in group I. Milk fat, lactose, and protein levels were significantly higher in group II than in the others. BUN was highly significantly lower in group I than in the control group. Specific FAs, total SFA, and total UFA were significantly higher in group II than in the other groups. After feeding, plasma GLU, free FA, TG, LDL, and VLDL were significantly higher in group II than in the other groups. The control group, group I, and group II had 4984, 5487, and 5158 OTUs, respectively, and 3483 OTUs were common to all groups. The abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes was >75%. The abundance of Verrucomicrobia was significantly higher in groups I and II than in the control group and, among the previous two, significantly higher in group II than in group I. The abundance of Treponema_saccharophilum significantly differed between the control and other groups, and WCHB 1_41, Kiritimatiellae, and Verrucomicrobia abundances significantly differed between groups II and the other groups.

Supplementation of palmitoleic acid improved piglet growth and reduced body temperature drop upon cold exposure

Piglet survival is a major challenge in the first few days postpartum and interventions during this period may improve survival and growth. This study investigated the effects of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n-7; PA) supplementation on growth performance, body temperature, fatty acid (FA), and energy metabolism in milk-replacer-fed piglets. Forty-eight piglets were stratified by body weight and randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments (0%, 1%, 2%, and 3% PA supplementation as a percent of milk replacer) and given the diet through an orogastric tube. They were fed dietary treatments every 2 h for 4 d in the first week postpartum and all were sacrificed at the end of the experiment. The piglets were weighed daily, and half in each dietary treatment group, the same piglets each day, were exposed daily to a lower temperature for 2 h. Plasma samples were collected immediately before sacrifice for analyses of FA and other plasma metabolites. The weight of organs and empty body weight were determined after sacrifice. Liver and semimembranosus muscle tissue samples were collected and analyzed for FA content. Contents of C16:1n-7 and C18:1n-7 in both plasma and liver (P < 0.001), and C16:1n-7 in semimembranosus muscle (P < 0.001) increased linearly as PA supplementation increased. Most plasma FA levels (except C16:1n-7, C16:1n-9, and C22:5n-3) were lower in piglets exposed to lower temperatures than those that were not. Plasma glucose, triglycerides, and lactate dehydrogenase levels increased linearly with PA supplementation (P < 0.001). Piglets' average daily gain, liver glycogen pool, liver weight, and gallbladder weight increased linearly (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, and P < 0.001, respectively), but lung weight, liver nitrogen content, and body temperature drop decreased linearly (P < 0.01, P < 0.001, and P < 0.05, respectively) with PA supplementation. Piglets exposed to low temperature had greater liver nitrogen (P < 0.05) and lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.001) contents but had lower liver weight (P < 0.01) and plasma lactate concentration (P < 0.05) than those that were not. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the importance of PA on the growth performance of the piglets by increasing their average daily gain and decreasing a drop in body temperature upon cold exposure, most likely due to a modified energy metabolism.

Effects of Dietary Lysolecithin Supplementation during Late Gestation and Lactation on Sow Reproductive Performance, Sow Blood Metabolic Parameters and Piglet Performance

Simple Summary

Lactation is metabolically very demanding, and sows struggle to eat enough to cover their requirements. Use of lysolecithin can improve energy digestibility and retention and may be able to help sows maintain condition and performance during lactation. In the present study supplementation with lysolecithin reduced backfat loss and increased litter growth. There were also impacts of lysolecithin supplementation on glucose and urea metabolism, indicating improved nutrient digestion and absorption, potentially via leptin-regulated mechanisms.

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of lysolecithin in sows’ diets during the last three weeks of the gestation period and throughout the lactation period on performance and metabolic parameters. In total 60 sows were allocated to two treatments: (a) CG (control group): the sows were fed commercially control diets; (b) LLG (lysolecithin group): the sows were fed the control diets supplemented with 750 g/t of feed supplemented with lysolecithin (Lysoforte Booster Dry^TM, Kemin Europa N.V., Herentals, Belgium). Backfat was lower in LLG than CG at end of gestation and at weaning (p = 0.030 and 0.044, respectively), while the CG sows mobilized more backfat between day 14 to weaning (p = 0.006). Litter weight at weaning was higher in the LLG (p = 0.027). Fasted glucose levels at day 14 of lactation tended to be lower in LLG compared to CG (p = 0.074). Urea concentrations were higher in LLG than CG at day 14 (p = 0.002). Lysolecithin supplemented sows compared to the control mobilized less tissue during lactation to support lactation demands. In conclusion, lysolecithin supplementation in sows resulted in improved litter weight at weaning without an excessive catabolism of backfat tissue, most probably due to an efficient nutrient utilization, which warrants further investigation.

The Role of Dietary and Microbial Fatty Acids in the Control of Inflammation in Neonatal Piglets

Simple Summary

The maturation of the gut is a specific and very dynamic process in new-born piglets. Consequently, piglet’s gut is very susceptible to disturbances, especially in stressful periods of life, such as weaning, when the gut lining often becomes inflamed and leaky. Dietary fatty acids (FA) do not only serve as source of energy and essential FA, but they are important precursors for bioactive lipid mediators, which modulate inflammatory signalling in the body. The current review summarizes results on dietary sources of FA for piglets, the signalling cascades, bioactivities, the necessity to consider the autoxidation potential of polyunsaturated FA and the area of microbially produced long-chain FA. That said, porcine milk is high in fat, whereby the milk FA composition partly depends on the dietary FA composition of the sow. Therefore, manipulation of the sow diet is an efficient tool to increase the piglet’s intake of specific FA, e.g., n-3 polyunsaturated FA which show anti-inflammatory activity and may support intestinal integrity and functioning in the growing animal.

Abstract

Excessive inflammation and a reduced gut mucosal barrier are major causes for gut dysfunction in piglets. The fatty acid (FA) composition of the membrane lipids is crucial for mediating inflammatory signalling and is largely determined by their dietary intake. Porcine colostrum and milk are the major sources of fat in neonatal piglets. Both are rich in fat, demonstrating the dependence of the young metabolism from fat and providing the young organism with the optimum profile of lipids for growth and development. The manipulation of sow’s dietary polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) intake has been shown to be an efficient strategy to increase the transfer of specific FAs to the piglet for incorporation in enteric tissues and cell membranes. n-3 PUFAs, especially seems to be beneficial for the immune response and gut epithelial barrier function, supporting the piglet’s enteric defences in situations of increased stress such as weaning. Little is known about microbial lipid mediators and their role in gut barrier function and inhibition of inflammation in neonatal piglets. The present review summarizes the current knowledge of lipid nutrition in new-born piglets, comparing the FA ingestion from milk and plant-based lipid sources and touching the areas of host lipid signalling, inflammatory signalling and microbially derived FAs.

Flavor supplementation during late gestation and lactation periods increases the reproductive performance and alters fecal microbiota of the sows

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of flavor on reproductive performance and fecal microbiota of sows during late gestation and lactation. A total of 20 healthy Yorkshire sows were fed a corn-soybean basal diet unsupplemented or supplemented with 0.1% flavor compound from d 90 of gestation to 25 d post-farrowing, and then the piglets were weaned. The reproductive performance and the fecal microbiota of sows were analyzed. Compared with the controls, flavor supplementation in maternal diets increased (P < 0.05) weaning litter weight, litter weight gain, weaning body weight, and average daily gain of piglets. There was a trend of increase in the average daily feed intake of sows (P = 0.09) by maternal dietary flavor addition. The backfat thickness and litter size were not affected by flavor supplementation (P > 0.05). The 16S rRNA analysis showed that flavor supplementation significantly increased the abundance of Phascolarctobacterium (P < 0.05), but significantly decreased genera Terrisporobacter, Alloprevotella, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Escherichia-shigella (P < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that Phascolarctobacterum was positively correlated with the average daily feed intake of sows (P < 0.05), the litter weight gain and average daily gain of piglets (P < 0.05). In contrast, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae were negatively correlated with the litter weight gain and average daily gain of piglets (P < 0.05). Taken together, dietary flavor supplementation improved the reproductive performance of the sows, which was associated with enhanced beneficial microbiota and decreased potentially pathogenic bacteria in the sows.

Impact of sugar beet pulp and wheat bran on serum biochemical profile, inflammatory responses and gut microbiota in sows during late gestation and lactation

Background

Sows are frequently subjected to various stresses during late gestation and lactation, which trigger inflammatory response and metabolic disorders. Dietary fiber can influence animal health by modulating gut microbiota and their by-products, with the effects depending upon the source of the dietary fiber. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of different fiber sources on body condition, serum biochemical parameters, inflammatory responses and fecal microbiota in sows from late gestation to lactation.

Methods

Forty-five multiparous sows (Yorkshire × Landrace; 3–6 parity) were assigned to 1 of 3 dietary treatments from d 85 of gestation to the end of lactation (d 21 post-farrowing): a control diet (CON, a corn-soybean meal diet), a sugar beet pulp diet (SBP, 20% SBP during gestation and 10% SBP during lactation), and a wheat bran diet (WB, 30% WB during gestation and 15% WB during lactation).

Results

Compared with CON, supplementation of SBP decreased (P < 0.05) lactation BW loss, reduced (P < 0.05) serum concentration of total cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acids, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and increased (P < 0.05) fecal water content on d 110 of gestation and d 21 of lactation, while supplementation of WB reduced (P < 0.05) serum concentration of total cholesterol on d 110 of gestation, increased (P < 0.05) fecal water content and decreased (P < 0.05) serum interleukin-6 concentration on d 110 of gestation and d 21 of lactation. In addition, sows fed SBP had lower (P < 0.01) abundance of Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 and Terrisporobacter than those fed CON, but had greater (P < 0.05) abundance of Christensenellaceae_R-7_group and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002 than those fed the other two diets on d 110 of gestation. On d 21 of lactation, supplementation of SBP decreased (P < 0.05) the abundance of Firmicutes and Lactobacillus, but enriched (P < 0.05) the abundance of Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-002, Prevotellaceae_UCG_001 and unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae compared with WB. Compared with CON, sows fed SBP had greater (P < 0.05) fecal concentrations of acetate, butyrate and total SCFAs during gestation and lactation, while sows fed WB only had greater (P < 0.05) fecal concentration of butyrate during lactation.

Conclusions

Supplementation of dietary fiber during late gestation and lactation could improve sow metabolism and gut health, and SBP was more effective than WB.

Inclusion of Oat and Yeast Culture in Sow Gestational and Lactational Diets Alters Immune and Antimicrobial Associated Proteins in Milk

Simple Summary

This study investigated the impact that supplementing sow’s gestation and lactation feed with oat alone or together with brewer’s yeast has on milk proteins and piglet growth and health. Oat and yeast supplements increased abundance of several milk proteins involved in immune protection. Piglets born from either the oat- or yeast-supplemented sows had decreased incidence of diarrhea after weaning. The average birth weights for piglets born of dams that consumed Oat were significantly greater than those that did not. However, piglets born to sows that consumed yeast in combination with oat weighed less at weaning and gained the least amount of weight post-weaning. These data suggest that oat, and to a lesser extent, yeast, added to maternal diets during gestation and lactation can positively impact milk, growth, and health of offspring but given in combination can potentially negatively affect piglet weight gain.

Abstract

Maternal diet supplementation with pro- and prebiotics is associated with decreased incidence of diarrhea and greater piglet performance. This study investigated the impact adding whole ground oat as a prebiotic, alone or in combination with a probiotic, yeast culture (YC) (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), to sow gestation and lactation rations had on milk protein composition, piglet growth, and incidence of post-weaning diarrhea (PWD). Diets: control (CON), CON + yeast culture (YC) [5 g/kg], CON + oat (15% inclusion rate) (Oat) or CON+ YC [5 g/kg] + Oat (15%) were fed the last 30 days of gestation and throughout lactation (18–21 days). Shotgun proteome analysis of day 4 and 7 postpartum milk found 36 differentially abundant proteins (P-adj < 0.1) in both Oat and YC supplemented sows relative to CON. Notable was the increased expression of antimicrobial proteins, lactoferrin and chitinase in milk of Oat and YC sows compared to CON. The levels of IgA, IgM (within colostrum and milk) and IgG (within milk) were similar across treatments. However, colostral IgG levels in Oat-supplemented sows were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that of the control sows, IgG from Oat-supplemented sows displayed greater reactivity to E. coli-antigens compared with CON and YC. Piglets from sows that consumed Oat alone or in combination weighed significantly more (p < 0.05) at birth compared to CON and YC. However, piglets in the Oat + YC group weighed less at weaning and had the lowest weight gain (p < 0.05) postweaning, compared with CON. Taken together with the observation that piglets of either YC- or Oat-fed sows had less PWD compared to CON and YC+ Oat suggests that Oat or YC supplementation positively impacts piglets through expression of certain milk-associated immune and antimicrobial proteins.

A standardized model to study effects of varying 24-h colostrum dose on postnatal growth and development

Survival, feed efficiency, growth, and fertility of swine are dependent on colostrum intake in the first 24 h after birth. This study determined the effects of three doses of a homogeneous colostrum sample on 24-h body weight, rectal temperature (RT), immunocrit, and growth and survival to postnatal day (PND) 7. Three female piglets were selected from eight litters (n = 24 piglets) at birth, removed from their litter, and bottle-fed 10% (COL10, n = 8), 15% (COL15, n = 8), or 20% (COL20, n = 8) colostrum based on birth weight over 12 bottle feedings every 2 h. At 24 h, piglets were weighed, RT recorded, and blood was collected to measure immunocrit. Piglets were returned to the litter of origin, and weight was measured daily until PND 7. Colostrum dose had an overall effect on weight gain at 24 h, RT, immunocrit, and growth to PND 7 (P < 0.05). Piglets in the 20% BrW colostrum group had greater weight gain, RT, and immunocrit at 24 h than COL10 piglets (P < 0.05), but these variables were not different between COL15 and the other treatments. Despite no difference in average daily gain after being returned to their litters, the greater weight (P < 0.05) in COL20 compared to COL10 and COL15 was sustained over 7 d. Seven piglets in each treatment survived to PND 7. This model using standardized doses of a homogeneous colostrum sample enables controlled studies aimed at understanding the role of 24-h colostrum intake on piglet development.

Effects of different methionine levels on offspring piglets during late gestation and lactation

Maternal dietary supplementation during gestation and lactation improves the health of piglets. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different levels of methionine (Met) supplementation in the sows' diet during late gestation and lactation on piglets. Thirty sows were randomly divided into three groups and fed the following diets from day 90 of gestation to day 21 of lactation: (a) control group (a basal diet containing 0.36% Met), (b) 0.48% Met group (a basal diet with additional 0.12% Met), and (c) 0.60% Met group (a basal diet with additional 0.24% Met). On day 21 after farrowing, piglets of average body weight (n = 10 per group) were selected for sample collection. The results showed that the 0.48% Met and 0.60% Met diets significantly lowered the malondialdehyde content in the piglets' serum (P < 0.05). In addition, the glutathione peroxidase content was significantly increased in the 0.48% Met group (P < 0.05) and the total glutathione content was significantly reduced in the 0.60% Met group (P < 0.05) compared to the control group. Furthermore, Met supplementation of the sows' diet was associated with alterations in 37 plasma metabolites in the piglets. In the piglets' intestinal microbiota, the relative abundances of Phascolarctobacterium and Bacteroidetes in the 0.48% Met group were higher than those in the other two groups (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that a diet including 0.48% Met during late gestation and lactation can maintain the health of piglets by increasing the antioxidant capacity and changing the intestinal microbiota composition, but a higher level of Met supplementation may increase the potential risk to piglets.