Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug 30;13(17):2764.
doi: 10.3390/ani13172764.

Phytogenic Bioactive Compounds in the Diet of Lactating Sows, Litter Performance, and Milk Characteristics

Gleyson Araújo Dos Santos  1 , Maria do Carmo de Oliveira  1 , Amanda Medeiros Araújo de Oliveira  2 , Victor Hugo Teixeira Batista  1 , Priscila Oliveira Costa  1 , Augusto Heck  3 , Camilla Mendonça Silva  1 , Adriano Henrique do Nascimento Rangel  4 , Michelly Fernandes de Macedo  1 , Rennan Herculano Rufino Moreira  1
Affiliations

Phytogenic Bioactive Compounds in the Diet of Lactating Sows, Litter Performance, and Milk Characteristics

Gleyson Araújo Dos Santos et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the effect of phytogenic supplementation in the feed of lactating sows on the performance parameters of sows and suckling piglets. Ninety-three lactating sows of commercial lines (sows TN70) were distributed in a completely randomized design. The treatments adopted were a control diet without phytogenics (control) and a control diet with phytogenic supplementation in the feed. Performance parameters and the behaviors of sows and piglets were evaluated, in addition to milk composition and the biochemical parameters of the animals. The use of phytogenics did not affect the feed intake or tissue mobilization of the sows. However, it improved the production and quality of milk and reduced the possibility of light piglets at weaning by 22.16 percentage points. Regarding biochemical parameters, phytogenics improved animal recovery in the lactation period, as proven by an increase in the serum concentration of total protein and urea. Sows that received phytogenics exhibited increased behaviors of inactivity (3.16%), breastfeeding (1.15%), and water consumption (0.95%). In conclusion, using phytogenics in the feed of lactating sows improves the performance of the litters without affecting the body condition of the sows, with increased milk production and enhanced protein and lactose concentration.

Keywords: essential oil; maternity; pig farming; piglets; plant extracts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average temperature and relative humidity of the maternity ward during the lactation (21 days) as a function the hours.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Stratification of piglet weight (light, medium, and heavy) as a function of supplementation with phytogenics (n = 44) or no supplementation with phytogenics, and a diet control of lactating sows (n = 49). We considered light piglets at equalization > 1.4 kg; medium piglets at equalization from 1.4 to 1.7 kg; and heavy piglets at equalization < 1.7 kg. We considered light piglets at weaning with >4.9 kg; medium piglets at weaning with 4.9 to 6.1 kg; and heavy piglets at weaning with <6.1 kg. * The means differed at the 5% probability level, confirmed by F-test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ward S.A., Kirkwood R.N., Plush K.J. Are larger litters a concern for piglet survival or an effectively manageable trait? Animals. 2020;10:309. doi: 10.3390/ani10020309. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Silva B.A., Eskinazi S., Jacob D.V., Araujo W.A., Rebordões F.I., Gonçalves M.F., Ataíde I.Q., Miranda H.A., Cardoso H.M., Evangelista R.P., et al. Feed flavour supplementation improves kinetics of intake and feeding behaviour pattern of lactating sows in a tropical climate. Livest. Sci. 2021;1:104559. doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2021.104559. - DOI
    1. Sun X., Piao L., Jin H., Nogoy K.M.C., Zhang J., Sun B., Jin Y., Lee D.H., Choi S.H., Smith S.B., et al. Effects of dietary supplementation of glucose oxidase, catalase, or both on reproductive performance, oxidative stress, fecal microflora and apoptosis in multiparous sows. Anim. Biosci. 2022;35:75–86. doi: 10.5713/ab.20.0839. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rubio C.P., Mainau E., Cerón J.J., Contreras-Aguilar M.D., Martínez-Subiela S., Navarro E., Tecles F., Manteca X., Escribano D. Biomarkers of oxidative stress in saliva in pigs: Analytical validation and changes in lactation. BMC Vet. Res. 2019;15:144. doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-1875-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shen Y., Wan H., Zhu J., Fang Z., Che L., Xu S., Lin Y., Li J., Wu D. Fish oil and olive oil supplementation in late pregnancy and lactation differentially affect oxidative stress and inflammation in sows and piglets. Lipids. 2015;50:647–658. doi: 10.1007/s11745-015-4024-x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources