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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1585925
This article is part of the Research Topic Embryo-Maternal Communication: Uncovering Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms View all articles
Effects of energy and amino acid intake during gestation on reproductive performance, milk composition, antioxidant status and placental nutrient transport in high-parity sows
Provisionally accepted- Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
Appropriate nutritional strategies show promise for enhancing productive performance and longevity of sows. This study aimed to determine the effects of increased energy and amino acids (AA) intake during gestation on reproductive performance, milk composition, blood parameters, placental nutrient transport and antioxidant capacity of high parity sows. A total of 72 Landrace × Yorkshire sows (seventh to ninth parity) were randomly assigned to dietary treatments consisting of combinations of 2 energy levels and 2 AA levels in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Blood and milk samples and placentas from sows were collected to measure biochemistry parameters, milk composition, antioxidant indexes, and indicators related to nutrient transport. The results showed that sows fed high energy reduced the number of live born piglets (P < 0.05), increased the birth weight of piglets (P < 0.05). Further observation showed that sows fed high energy decreased plasma progesterone at 30 and 60 days of gestation and plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) at 90 days of gestation (P < 0.05), increased fat content in colostrum and average daily weight gain of piglets during lactation (P < 0.05). Moreover, high energy intake during gestation decreased mRNA expression of GPX and increased mRNA expression of glucose transporter 3 in the placenta (P < 0.05). High AA intake during gestation showed a tendency to increase litter birth weight and colostrum protein content (P < 0.10), and increased plasma urea nitrogen at day 110 of gestation and plasma T-SOD at day 90 of gestation (P < 0.05). Furthermore, sows fed high AA intake during gestation increased mRNA expressions of placental extracellular SOD and sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter 1 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, sows feed high energy during gestation negatively impacted fetal survival by reducing progesterone concentrations and antioxidant capacity, while simultaneously increasing piglet birth weight through enhanced placental nutrient transport. Moreover, sows received high AA during gestation exhibited better redox status and improved litter performance, which can be attributed to enhancements in antioxidant capacity and colostrum composition.
Keywords: Energy, Amino Acids, Foetal survival, antioxidant, high-parity sows
Received: 01 Mar 2025; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Zheng, Wu, Fang, Che and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Liang Hu, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
De Wu, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
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