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The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with glycitein, a major soy isoflavone, during late pregnancy (starting on d 85) and lactation on antioxidative indices and performance in primiparous sows. A total of 227 gilts (Yorkshire × Landrace) were used, and after parturition, piglets were cross-fostered within treatment so that each sow suckled 10 piglets. Gilts were randomly divided into 4 groups on d 85 of pregnancy and thereafter fed the basal diets of gestation or lactation (controls) or those supplemented with 15, 30, or 45 mg/kg diet glycitein. Reproductive performance of the sows, growth of litters, concentration of plasma glycitein, milk composition, and antioxidative indices in sows' plasma and milk, such as the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), were measured. Supplementation of the dam's diets with glycitein increased ADG of piglets (linear, P = 0.003) and weaned BW of litters (linear, P = 0.01) and both variables were approximately 10% greater than controls with the 45 mg/kg treatment. The percentage of milk protein was linearly (P < 0.05) increased on d 1 and 7 of lactation, and milk fat content increased on d 7 and 14 (linear, P< 0.05). All other measured indices of performance were unaffected by supplementation with glycitein (P > 0.05). The glycitein concentration in sow's plasma was linearly (P < 0.0001) elevated. During lactation, linear increases occurred in plasma activities of SOD (P < 0.001) and T-AOC (P < 0.05 to P< 0.001), CAT (d 7 to 18 of lactation, P < 0.05) and GSH-Px (d 7 of lactation, P < 0.05), whereas the content of plasma MDA decreased (linear, P < 0.05) throughout lactation with glycitein supplementation. Activities of CAT and T-AOC in milk were not affected by maternal supplementation with glycitein, but increases in SOD on d 18 of lactation (P< 0.001) and GSH-Px in colostrum (P < 0.05) were observed. The content of MDA in milk was decreased (linear, P< 0.05) at all stages of lactation except d 14. Collectively, the results of this study indicate that dietary supplementation with glycitein in sows during late pregnancy and lactation elevated the antioxidative indices, decreased the content of MDA in sow's plasma and milk, improved milk composition, and enhanced the growth performance of the sucking piglets.

Widespread contamination of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) has been identified in the environment of leather industries and their surrounding residential areas. Few studies have assessed the dose-response relationships between internal exposure biomarkers and liver injury in DMF exposed populations. We assessed urinary N-methylformamide (NMF) and N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl) cysteine (AMCC) and blood N-methylcarbmoylated hemoglobin (NMHb) levels in 698 Chinese DMF-exposed workers and 188 nonDMF- exposed workers using ultraperformance liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry. Liver injury was defined as having abnormal serum activities of any of the 3 liver enzymes, including alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. Higher liver injury rates were identified in DMF-exposed workers versus nonDMF-exposed workers (9.17% vs 4.26%, P = .029) and in male versus female workers (11.4% vs 3.2%, P < .001). Positive correlations between environmental exposure categories and internal biomarker levels were identified with all 3 biomarkers undetectable in nonDMF-exposed workers. Lower confidence limit of benchmark dose (BMDL) was estimated using the benchmark dose (BMD) method. Within all study subjects, BMDLs of 14.0 mg/l for NMF, 155 mg/l for AMCC, and 93.3 nmol/g for NMHb were estimated based on dose-response relationships between internal levels and liver injury rates. Among male workers, BMDLs of 10.9 mg/l for NMF, 119 mg/l for AMCC, and 97.0 nmol/g for NMHb were estimated. In conclusion, NMF, AMCC, and NMHb are specific and reliable biomarkers and correlate well with DMF-induced hepatotoxicity. NMF correlates the best with liver injury, while NMHb may be the most stable indicator. Males have a greater risk of liver injury than females upon DMF exposure.