Effect Of Dietary Supplementation With Acidifier On Performance, Milk Composition And Immunoglobulin In Sows During Late Gestation And Lactation

This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of acidifier on performance, colostrum and milk composition and immunoglobulin of sows during late gestation and lactation. According to the parities and body condition scores, eighty sows (landrace × large white, mean parity 3.38± 1.40) ranging in parity from 1 to 6 were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments supplemented with 0(control),10 kg/T CA,5 kg/T CAA, or 6 kg/T CAB. The experiment started at day 84 gestation and ran until day after weanling 1 week for 58 days. Blood samples were collected on day 0 (farrowing) and day 14 of lactation. The colostrum and milk samples were obtained on day 0 (farrowing) and day 14 of lactation, respectively. Faecal samples were collected from the sows on days 10 of lactation. Base on the above samples, reproductive performance, milk composition, sow plasma biochemical, sow immunoglobulin levels and faecal microbial population were determined. The main results were as follows:1. Reproductive performance:Throughout the experiment, the occurrence of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) pigs was significantly reduced in sows fed CAB relative to sows in control group (P<0.05). Supplementing CAB decreased backfat thickness loss and weaning to estrus interval (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in sow and litter performance among treatments (P>0.05), such as sow average daily feed intake (ADFI), average birth weight, litter size, litter weight at birth and weaning and weight gain of the piglets.2. Milk composition:On the day 0 (farrowing) and day 14 of lactation, the milk fat of colostrum and milk was significantly increased with CAB supplemented diets (P<0.05). Additionally, on the day 14 of lactation, the milk fat of milk was improved by adding CA and CAA (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in milk protein, lactose and Non-fat milk solids among treatments (P>0.05).3. Sow plasma biochemical:On the day 0 (farrowing), the total protein (TP) concentration of plasma was significantly enhanced by adding CAB (P<0.05). Additionally, the triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TCH) concentration were significantly increased with CAA and CAB supplemented diets (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in albumin (ALB), globulin (GLB), glucose (GLU), plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) and free fatty acids (FAA) among treatments (P>0.05).4. Sow immunoglobulin levels:On the day 14 of lactation, the concentration of immunoglobulin A (P<0.05), immunoglobulin G (P<0.01) and immunoglobulin M (P<0.05) in milk were significantly increased in sows fed CAB diet compared with sows in control group. There were no significant differences in IgA, IgG and IgM both plasma and colostrum at farrowing among treatments (P>0.05).5. Faecal microbial population:There were no significant differences in the number of Escherichia coli and lactobacilli on the day 10 of lactation among treatments (P>0.05).Conclusion1. Dietary supplementation of CAB during late gestation and lactation reduced the occurrence of IUGR pigs,improved sow performance and increased the TG and TCH concentration of plasma.2. Dietary supplementation of CAB during late gestation and lactation increased the concentration of IgA, IgG and IgM in milk, improved humoral immune function.3. Dietary supplementation of CA, CAA and CAB during late gestation and lactation improved milk composition.