Abstract
The effects of a combined supplementation with herbal antioxidants during pregnancy on reproductive traits and piglet performance (number of live, dead, and mummified newborns and litter weight at birth and individual body weight at both birth and weaning) were assessed in a total of 1027 sows (504 treated and 523 control females) kept under commercial breeding conditions. The supplementation increased the number of live-born piglets (13.64 ± 0.11 vs. 12.96 ± 0.13 in the controls; p = 0.001) and the total litter weight, decreasing the incidence of low-weight piglets without affecting the number of stillbirths and mummified newborns. Such an effect was modulated by the number of parity and the supplementation, with supplementation increasing significantly the number of living newborns in the first, second, sixth, and seventh parities (0.87, 1.10, 1.49, and 2.51 additional piglets, respectively; p < 0.05). The evaluation of plasma vitamin concentration and biomarkers of oxidative stress (total antioxidant capacity, TAC, and malondialdehyde concentration, MDA) performed in a subset of farrowing sows and their lighter and heavier piglets showed that plasma levels of both vitamins were significantly higher in the piglets than in their mothers (p < 0.05 for vitamin C and p < 0.005 for vitamin E), with antioxidant supplementation increasing significantly such concentrations. Concomitantly, there were no differences in maternal TAC but significantly higher values in piglets from supplemented sows (p < 0.05). On the other hand, supplementation decreased plasma MDA levels both in the sows and their piglets (p < 0.05). Finally, the piglets from supplemented mothers showed a trend for a higher weaning weight (p = 0.066) and, specifically, piglets with birth weights above 1 kg showed a 7.4% higher weaning weight (p = 0.024). Hence, the results of the present study, with high robustness and translational value by offering data from more than 1000 pregnancies under standard breeding conditions, supports that maternal supplementation with herbal antioxidants during pregnancy significantly improves reproductive efficiency, litter traits, and piglet performance.
Highlights
Introduction conditions of the Creative CommonsModern swine production is at the head of worldwide meat production, based on large farms implementing efficient genetic selection, health assessment, and nutritional and reproductive strategies
Previous studies under experimental conditions have shown that such a combination improves the antioxidant/oxidative status of the sow [21] and favors the transfer of vitamin E to the piglets and their postnatal growth patterns [22]. These results suggest that supplementation with antioxidant agents may be a promising strategy for diminishing incidence and consequences of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in swine, but translation from basic research to practice may be hampered by environmental and management conditions
The main results of the study show supplementation with herbal antioxidants during pregnancy leads to a present studythat show that supplementation with herbal antioxidants during pregnancy significant increase in the number live born piglets a consequent increaseincrease in litter leads to a significant increase in the of number of live bornand piglets and a consequent weight; mainly explained by the increase in the number of live born piglets with body in litter weight; mainly explained by the increase in the number of live born piglets with weight greater than 1 kg
Summary
Modern swine production is at the head of worldwide meat production, based on large farms implementing efficient genetic selection, health assessment, and nutritional and reproductive strategies. Antioxidants 2021, 10, 658 selecting lines with higher prolificacy to increase the number of piglets and farm profitability. Such improvement of prolificacy has been mainly achieved by the selection of genotypes with a high ovulatory rate and a high number of developing fetuses. The space into the uterus for the adequate development of the fetuses and their placentae is limited, so large litters are affected by deficiencies of placental development affecting the functionality of the organ and, the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the fetuses [1]. The consequence is the impairment of fetal growth in a process known as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), leading to low birth-weight (LBW)
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