Determining the impact of increasing standardized ileal digestible lysine for primiparous and multiparous sows during lactation. Transl Anim Sci 2017;1:426-436. [PMID: 32704666 PMCID: PMC7204983 DOI: 10.2527/tas2017.0043]

Capsaicin and 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Glycoside: Effects on the Reproductive Performance of Hyper-Prolific Sows

This study evaluated the effect of a natural source of vitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] and capsaicin (CAP) in the dietary supplementation of sows in the final phase (85-114 days) of gestation (Gest) and lactation (Lact) on the reproductive performance of the sows and health of piglets through two experiments (Exp I and II). In Exp I, 120 sows were subjected to four treatments: T1-control (without [1,25-(OH)2D3] and supplemental CAP); T2-3.5 µg 1,25-(OH)2D3/Gest/day and 7.0 µg Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3/Lact/day; T3-7.0 µg CAP/Gest/day and 14.0 µg CAP/Lact/day; T4-1.75 µg Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 + 3.5 µg CAP/Gest/day and 3.5 µg 1,25-(OH)2D3 + 7.0 µg CAP/Lact/day. In Exp II, 200 sows were randomly blocked, factorial 2 × 2 (without or with Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 and without or with CAP): T1-control (without Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 and CAP); T2-3.5 µg Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3/Gest/day and 7.0 µg Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3/Lact/day; T3-7.0 µg CAP/Gest/day and 14.0 µg CAP/Lact/day; T4-3.5 µg Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 + 7 µg CAP/Gest/day; and 7.0 µg Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 + 14.0 µg CAP/Lact/day. The duration of delivery (3:48 vs. 4:57 h) and the percentage of stillbirths (5.37% vs. 7.61%) were improved (p < 0.05) in the group that received Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 (Exp II) compared to the control group. Moreover, the dystocia rate decreased (p < 0.05) in Exp II, which received Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 (4.21 vs. 27.63%), and in Exp I, which received the combination of Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 + CAP (12 vs. 40%) compared to the respective control groups. Colostrum production was greater (p < 0.05) in sows that received Vit 1,25-(OH)2D3 supplementation compared to the control group, consequently resulting in higher colostrum intake (p < 0.05) of the piglets (330 vs. 258 g/piglet). The additives reduced the incidence of diarrhea (p < 0.05) in piglets (Exp I and II). Thus, the use of additives improved the reproductive performance of sows and contributed to litter growth.

Effect of capsaicin on the feed intake and immunoglobin concentration of sows, and performance of piglets

Capsaicin is a recognized alkaloid that can be used as a flavoring and palatability agent. These effects can increase feed intake in lactating sows during farrowing, especially under thermal stress conditions, and provide antioxidant and immunostimulant activities. The objective of this work was to find out the effects of a capsaicin-based product on the feed intake of sows, immunomodulation, and repercussions on litter performance and the control of piglet diarrhea conditions. A total of 132 pregnant sows and lactating sows and their respective litters were divided into 66 sows each and submitted to one of two possible treatments: a capsaicin-free diet (control group) or capsaicin per meal/day. Capsaicin was mixed with gestation and lactation diets in the proportion of 98.6 g of feed and 1.4 g of capsaicin/kg feed, with the dose administered "on top" of 100 g per treatment day on the first feeding. The sows were treated between 90 days of gestation and 21 days of lactation. Backfat thickness, feed intake during farrowing, colostrum production, IgG colostrum concentration, sow reproductive performance, piglet performance, and diarrhea were evaluated. Compared to the sows in the control group, those that received capsaicin had higher feed intake (+ 0.69 kg/day during lactation, P = 0.008), higher levels of IgG in colostrum (185.75 versus 153.80 mg/mL, P = 0.04), an 11.2% higher litter weight gain, with individual piglet weight gains greater than 5.24% (P = 0.045), and an effective reduction in the frequency of piglet diarrhea on the 10th and 17th days of age (P = 0.013 and P = 0.001, respectively). Capsaicin is an additive with potential effects on the sow's performance, with positive influences on the health and growth of suckling piglets.

Dietary supplementation with lysine (protein) stimulates mammary development in late pregnant gilts

The goal of this project was to determine if standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine provided at 40% above estimated requirements, with the concomitant increase in protein intake, from days 90 to 110 of gestation would stimulate mammary development in gilts. From day 90 of gestation, Yorkshire × Landrace gilts were fed 2.65 kg of either a conventional diet (CTL, control, n = 19) providing 18.6 g/d of SID Lys or a diet providing 26.0 g/d of SID Lys via additional soybean meal (HILYS, n = 19). Both diets were isoenergetic. Jugular blood samples obtained on days 90 and 110 of gestation were used to measure concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), metabolites, and amino acids (AA). Gilts were necropsied on day 110 ± 1 of gestation to obtain mammary glands for compositional analyses, immunohistochemistry, and analysis of mRNA abundance for AA transporters and markers of cell proliferation and differentiation. The HILYS gilts gained more body weight (P < 0.01) during the experimental period compared with CTL gilts, and had greater fetal weights (1.29 vs. 1.21 ± 0.03 kg, P < 0.05). There was no difference in circulating IGF-1, glucose, or albumin (P > 0.10) between HILYS and CTL gilts on day 110 of gestation, whereas concentrations of urea and free fatty acids were greater (P < 0.01), and those of Trp and Ala were lower (P < 0.05), in HILYS than CTL gilts. The provision of lysine at 40% above estimated requirements increased total mammary parenchymal mass by 44%, as well as total parenchymal fat, protein, DNA, and RNA (P < 0.01). The mRNA abundance of ACACA was greater (P < 0.05) in HILYS than CTL gilts, while only the AA transporter SLC6A14 tended (P < 0.10) to be greater. Results demonstrate that providing dietary Lys above current National Research Council recommendations in late gestation increases mammary development in gilts. Results also indicate that Lys may have been limiting for protein retention. These data suggest that the use of a two-phase feeding strategy during gestation, whereby dietary Lys is increased from day 90, could benefit potential sow milk yield in the subsequent lactation.

A meta-regression analysis to evaluate the influence of branched-chain amino acids in lactation diets on sow and litter growth performance

The branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) Ile, Leu, and Val are three dietary essential amino acids for lactating sows; however, effects of dietary BCAA on sow and litter growth performance in the literature are equivocal. Thus, a meta-regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of BCAA and their interactions in lactating sow diets to predict litter growth performance, sow bodyweight change, and sow feed intake. Thirty-four publications that represented 43 trials from 1997 to 2020 were used to develop a database that contained 167 observations. Diets for each trial were reformulated using NRC. 2012. Nutrient requirements of swine. 11th ed. Washington, DC: National Academies Press nutrient loading values in an Excel-based spreadsheet. Amino acids were expressed on a standardized ileal digestible (SID) basis. Regression model equations were developed with the MIXED procedure of SAS (Version 9.4, SAS Institute, Cary, NC) and utilized the inverse of reported squared SEM with the WEIGHT statement to account for heterogeneous errors across studies. Predictor variables were assessed with a step-wise manual forward selection for model inclusion. Additionally, statistically significant (P < 0.05) predictor variables were required to provide an improvement of at least 2 Bayesian information criterion units to be included in the final model. Significant predictor variables within three optimum equations developed for litter ADG included the count of weaned pigs per litter, NE, SID Lys, CP, sow ADFI, Val:Lys, Ile:Lys, and Leu:Val. For sow BW change, significant predictor variables within two developed models included litter size at 24 h, sow ADFI, Leu:Lys, and Ile + Val:Leu. The optimum equation for sow ADFI included Leu:Trp, SID Lys, NE, CP, and Leu:Lys as significant predictor variables. Overall, the prediction equations suggest that BCAA play an important role in litter growth, sow BW change, and feed intake during lactation; however, the influence of BCAA on these criteria is much smaller than that of other dietary components such as NE, SID Lys, sow ADFI, and CP.

Effects of soybean meal concentration in lactating sow diets on sow and litter performance and blood criteria

A total of 131 sows (Line 241; DNA, Columbus, NE) were used in a study to evaluate the effect of increasing soybean meal concentration in lactating sow diets on sow and litter performance. Sows were blocked by body weight (BW) within parity on day 112 of gestation and allotted to one of three treatments of increasing dietary soybean meal (25%, 30%, or 35% of the total diet). Diets were formulated to 1.05% standardized ileal digestible lysine (Lys) with L-Lys HCl decreasing as soybean meal increased. All other amino acids and nutrients were formulated to meet nutrient requirement recommendations. Diets were fed from day 112 of gestation until weaning (day 20 ± 2). Litters were cross-fostered up to 48 h after farrowing to equalize litter size. Increasing soybean meal concentration increased (linear, P = 0.017) sow BW loss and tended to increase (quadratic, P = 0.052) sow backfat loss from farrowing to weaning. Sow average daily feed intake (ADFI) from day 0 to 7 was similar (P > 0.10) across dietary treatments. However, from day 7 to 14, 14 to weaning, and overall, ADFI decreased (linear, P = 0.01) as soybean meal concentration increased. Despite the linear response in ADFI, the greatest decrease was observed as soybean meal concentration increased from 30% to 35% of the diet. There was no evidence for difference (P > 0.10) in wean-to-estrus interval, litter size, litter weight, or litter weight gain between dietary treatments. Sow serum urea nitrogen concentrations taken on day 14 of lactation increased (linear, P = 0.001) as soybean meal concentration increased. There was no difference (P > 0.05) for sow creatinine concentration, regardless of dietary treatment, suggesting that the increased urea nitrogen was a reflection of the increased dietary crude protein as opposed to increased protein catabolism. In summary, sow feed intake decreased and weight loss increased as soybean meal concentration of the diet increased, with the greatest decrease observed at 35% of the total diet. Although there were no differences in litter performance, it appeared that 35% soybean meal in the lactation diet negatively affected feed intake.

Optimal lysine in diets for high-yielding lactating sows1

The objective of the current study was to determine the optimal concentration of dietary standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys required to maximize litter gain and minimize sow BW loss in modern high-yielding lactating sows when SID CP was kept constant across dietary treatments. A total of 396 parity 1 to 5 sows (L × Y, DanBred, Herlev, Denmark) were included in the study from day 3 after farrowing until weaning at day 26. Sows were allocated to 6 dietary treatments increasing in SID Lys concentration (6.19, 6.90, 7.63, 8.33, 9.04, and 9.76 g/kg). Diets were isoenergetic (14.04 MJ ME/kg as-fed). Litters were standardized to 14 piglets at day 3 ± 2 d postpartum. At day 3 ± 2 d and at day 26 ± 3 d in lactation, litter weight, and sow BW and back fat were registered. On a subsample of 72 parity 2 to 4 sows, litters were additionally weighed at days 10 and 17 ± 3 d, and milk and blood were sampled at day 3 ± 2 d, and 10, 17 and at 24 ± 3 d in lactation. For the 72 sows, body pools of fat and protein were also determined at days 3 ± 2 and 26 ± 3 d using the D2O dilution technique. All data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design using PROC MIXED in SAS. Furthermore, data were subjected to linear and quadratic polynomial contrasts. Variables with quadratic or linear effects or days in milk × treatment interactions were selected for analysis in PROC NLMIXED using linear broken-line models to evaluate optimal SID Lys concentrations. Only models that converged and the best fitting models were included. Average daily litter gain increased until a breakpoint at 8.11 g/kg of SID Lys (as-fed). At and above the breakpoint, multiparous and primiparous sows had litter gains of 3.36 and 2.93 kg/d, respectively. Weaning litter size (13.0 ± 0.1) was similar between the 6 dietary treatments (P = 0.28). Lactation sow BW loss was minimized to 0.17 kg/d at 9.05 g/kg of SID Lys and sow body protein loss was minimized to 0.23 kg at 9.22 g/kg of SID Lys. Linear broken-line analyses showed that for 3, 10, 17, and 24 DIM, plasma urea was minimized at 7.02, 8.10, 8.73, and 8.32 g/kg of SID Lys, respectively, and milk fat was maximized at 7.80 g/kg of SID Lys. In conclusion, in our conditions, high-yielding lactating sows required 8.11 g/kg of SID Lys to maximize litter gain and 9.05 g/kg of SID Lys to minimize sow BW loss. Based on plasma urea, the optimal dietary concentration of SID Lys was lowest in week 1, intermediate in week 2 and 4, and greatest in week 3 of lactation.

Review: Nutrient requirements of the modern high-producing lactating sow, with an emphasis on amino acid requirements

Sow productivity improvements continue to increase metabolic demands during lactation. During the peripartum period, energy requirements increase by 60%, and amino acid needs increase by 150%. As litter size has increased, research on peripartum sows has focused on increasing birth weight, shortening farrowing duration to reduce stillbirths and improving colostrum composition and yield. Dietary fibre can provide short-chain fatty acids to serve as an energy source for the uterus prior to farrowing; however, fat and glucose appear to be the main energy sources used by the uterus during farrowing. Colostrum immunoglobulin G concentration can be improved by increasing energy and amino acid availability prior to farrowing; however, the influence of nutrient intake on colostrum yield is unequivocal. As sows transition to the lactation period, nutrient requirements increase with milk production demands to support large, fast-growing litters. The adoption of automated feed delivery systems has increased feed supply and intake of lactating sows; however, sows still cannot consume enough feed to meet energy and amino acid requirements during lactation. Thus, sows typically catabolise body fat and protein to meet the needs for milk production. The addition of energy sources to lactation diets increases energy intake and energy output in milk, leading to a reduction in BW loss and an improvement in litter growth rate. The supply of dietary amino acids and CP close to the requirements improves milk protein output and reduces muscle protein mobilisation. The amino acid requirements of lactating sows are variable as a consequence of the dynamic body tissue mobilisation during lactation; however, lysine (Lys) is consistently the first-limiting amino acid. A regression equation using published data on Lys requirement of lactating sows predicted a requirement of 27 g/day of digestible Lys intake for each 1 kg of litter growth, and 13 g/day of Lys mobilisation from body protein reserves. Increases in dietary amino acids reduce protein catabolism, which historically leads to improvements in subsequent reproductive performance. Although the connection between lactation catabolism and subsequent reproduction remains a dogma, recent literature with high-producing sows is not as clear on this response. Many practical aspects of meeting the nutrient requirements of lactating sows have not changed. Sows with large litters should approach farrowing without excess fat reserves (e.g. <18 mm backfat thickness), be fed ad libitum from farrowing to weaning, be housed in a thermoneutral environment and have their skin wetted to remove excess heat when exposed to high temperatures.