Variation in Vitamin E, Glutathione Peroxidase and Retinol Concentrations in Blood Plasma of Primiparous Sows and their Piglets, and in Vitamin E, Selenium and Retinol Contents in Sows' Milk

Distribution of injected fat-soluble vitamins in plasma and tissues of nursery pigs

Objective

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of fat-soluble vitamin injection on plasma and tissue vitamin status in nursery pigs.

Methods

A total of 16 pigs (initial body weight: 7.15±1.1 kg) were allotted to 2 treatments at d 7 post-weaning. Pigs were fed a corn-soybean meal-based basal diet with no supplemental vitamin A and i.m. injected with 300,000 IU of retinyl palmitate, 900 IU of d-α-tocopherol and 30,000 IU of vitamin D₃ with control pigs having no vitamin injection. Blood (d 0, 3, 7, and 14 post-injection) and tissue samples (liver, brain, heart, lung, and muscle; d 7 and 14 post-injection) were collected from pigs. Retinyl palmitate, retinol, and α-tocopherol concentrations were analyzed in plasma and tissues, while plasma was assayed for 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHD₃).

Results

Plasma retinol and 25-OHD₃ concentrations increased by the vitamin injection from d 3 to 14 post-injection (p<0.05) whereas plasma retinyl palmitate was detected only in the vitamin treatment at d 3 and 7 post-injection (115.51 and 4.97 μg/mL, respectively). Liver retinol, retinyl palmitate, and retinol+retinyl palmitate concentrations increased by retinyl palmitate injection at d 7 and 14 post-injection (p<0.05) whereas those were not detected in the other tissues. The d-α-tocopherol injection increased α-tocopherol concentrations in plasma at d 3 and 7 post-injection (p<0.05) and in liver, heart (p<0.10), and muscle (p<0.05) at d 7 post-injection.

Conclusion

Fat-soluble vitamin injection increased plasma status of α-tocopherol, retinol, retinyl palmitate and 25-OHD₃. As plasma levels decreased post-injection, vitamin A level in liver and vitamin E level in muscle, heart and liver increased. The α-tocopherol found in plasma after injection was distributed to various tissues but retinyl palmitate only to the liver.

Effect of Dietary Hemp Seed on Oxidative Status in Sows during Late Gestation and Lactation and Their Offspring

Simple Summary

Hemp seeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as other bioactive compounds. Using dietary hemp seeds as late gestation and lactation supplementation for sows and early life supplementation for piglets, we found that the indicators of oxidative status were improved in both sows and offspring. Besides the significant improvement in the antioxidant defense system of the sows, our assessment of dietary intervention resulted in an array of increased antioxidative status markers for their progeny. In addition, this could be translated into increased adaptability to the upcoming weaning stage.

Abstract

This study shows the antioxidant effect of a dietary hemp seed diet rich in ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) on oxidative status in sows during late gestation and lactation and their offspring. Ten pregnant sows were divided into two groups and fed either a control diet (CD) or a hemp diet (HD) containing 2% hemp seed meal for a period of 10 days before farrowing and 5% throughout the lactation period (21 d). After farrowing, 16 of their resulting piglets were divided into two groups: control group CD (eight piglets derived from control sows) and HD group (eight piglets derived from HD sows), respectively. Blood collected from sows and piglets at day 1, 7 and 21 was used for the measurement of antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GPx)), nitric oxide production (NO), lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances—TBARS), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in plasma. The results showed a significant improvement in the oxidative status of sows fed HD throughout lactation compared with CD. Similarly, in piglets, HD positively influenced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, TAC and NO levels and significantly decreased lipid peroxidation in plasma until weaning, in comparison with the CD group. This study suggests the potential of hemp seed diet to improve the overall antioxidant status of the lactating sows and their progeny.

The effect of different concentrations of linseed oil or fish oil in the maternal diet on the fatty acid composition and oxidative status of sows and piglets

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are essential for foetal development. Hence, including n-3 PUFA in the sow diet can be beneficial for reproduction. Both the amount and form (precursor fatty acids vs. long chain PUFA) of supplementation are important in this respect. Furthermore, including n-3 PUFA in the diet can have negative effects, such as decreased arachidonic acid (ARA) concentration and increased oxidative stress. This study aimed to compare the efficacy to increase eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in the piglet, when different concentrations of linseed oil (LO, source of precursor α-linolenic acid) or fish oil (FO, source of EPA and DHA) were included in the maternal diet. Sows were fed a palm oil diet or a diet including 0.5% or 2% LO or FO from day 45 of gestation until weaning. Linoleic acid (LA) was kept constant in the diets to prevent a decrease in ARA, and all diets were supplemented with α-tocopherol acetate (150 mg/kg) and organic selenium (0.4 mg/kg) to prevent oxidative stress. Feeding 0.5% LO or 0.5% FO to the sows resulted in comparable EPA concentrations in the 5-day old piglet liver, but both diets resulted in lower EPA concentrations than when 2% LO was fed. The highest EPA concentration was obtained when 2% FO was fed. The DHA level in the piglet liver could only be increased when FO, but not LO, was fed to the sows. The 2% FO diet had no advantage over the 0.5% FO diet to increase DHA in the piglet. Despite the constant LA concentration in the sow diet, a decrease in ARA could not be avoided when LO or FO were included in the diet. Feeding 2% FO to the sows increased the malondialdehyde concentration (marker for lipid peroxidation) in sow plasma, but not in piglets.

Vitamin E and selenium plasma concentrations in weanling pigs under field conditions in Norwegian pig herds

BACKGROUND

The status of alpha-tocopherol (vit E) and selenium (Se) has been shown to influence disease resistance in pigs, and may be important for the health of weanling pigs.

METHODS

Plasma levels of both vit E and Se were followed in weanling pigs under field conditions in six Norwegian pig herds. Plasma vit E and Se were measured in 3 sows from each herd and 4 piglets in the litter of each sow at the day before weaning (day -1); and in the same piglets at days 4, 8 and 18 after weaning.

RESULTS

Mean plasma vit E was 4.0 microg/ml in the sows and 2.6 microg/ml in the piglets at day -1, fell to 1.6 microg/ml in the weanling pigs at day 4, and remained low. Mean plasma Se was 0.22 microg/g in the sows and 0.08 microg/g in the piglets at day -1, rose to 0.10 microg/g in the weanlings at day 4, and continued rising.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that vit E and Se supplementation to piglets and weanling pigs in Norway may still be suboptimal, but that levels of the two nutrients partially compensate for each other in the weaning period.