A survey of vitamin and trace mineral ranges for diagnostic lab reporting from conventionally raised swine

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to survey the vitamin and mineral levels in various pig tissues at different phases of the life cycle. Materials and methods: Forty-eight healthy pigs of different stages of production were used for sampling of different tissues. Seven sows and a minimum of 10 animals from each phase of production (suckling, nursery, and finishing) were selected for sampling. A blood sample was collected via sterile venipuncture for serum vitamin and mineral analysis. After euthanasia, the diaphragm and liver were collected. Samples were submitted to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for analysis. Data were analyzed using SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute Inc) and presented as minimum and maximum concentrations with standard error. The experimental unit was the animal. Results: Levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, copper, zinc, selenium, iron, and manganese were higher in liver tissues than in serum and diaphragm tissues. Diaphragm muscle had similar levels of phosphorus as the liver tissue. Serum had similar levels of calcium as the liver tissue. Implications: These data provide a sampling of vitamin and mineral levels present in tissues and serum of commercial pigs and suggests that vitamin and mineral levels differ between sampling sites.

The evaluation of the supplementation of vitamin A, beta-carotene, and oxidized beta-carotene in prepubertal gilts

“…There were no differences in retinol in the plasma or liver values regardless of the diet. Vitamin A levels, measured as retinol, in the plasma and liver are similar to those reported in Greiner et al (2022) , and are assumed to be normal. The lack of difference in plasma retinol among the treatments demonstrated the tight regulation of vitamin A in the body ( Quadro et al, 2000 ; Tanumihardjo, 2011 ).…”

“…Jejunum samples were obtained by measuring 10% of the total intestine length from the duodenum ( Elefson et al, 2021 ); roughly 15.2 cm of the whole tissue was cleaned with phosphate buffer saline ( PBS , room temperature; pH 7.4), placed in a Whirl-Pak bag (7.62 × 12.70 cm) and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and then stored at −80 °C. Liver samples, stored at −20 °C, were analyzed for vitamin A 2 mo after collection at the Iowa State University Veterinarian Diagnostic Laboratory (Ames, IA) via high-pressure liquid chromatography as described by Greiner et al (2022) . Retinyl palmitate was converted to retinol, which was the measured metabolite in liver samples and reported as hepatic vitamin A herein.…”

“…Plasma samples from day 0 and day 63, in addition to all plasma samples collected in between for vaccine response parameters, were submitted to Iowa State University Veterinarian Diagnostic Laboratory for plasma vitamin A levels through the measurement of retinol. Analysis was conducted as described by Greiner et al (2022) . Plasma retinol is referred to as plasma vitamin A when reported herein.…”

Evaluation of oxidized beta-carotene on sow and piglet immune systems, sow reproductive performance, and piglet growth

“…The left lobes of the livers were collected, transferred on ice, and stored at −80 °C until further analysis. The left lobes of the livers were submitted to the Iowa State University Veterinarian Diagnostics Laboratory (Ames, IA) for vitamin A analysis as described in Greiner et al (2022) . Vitamin A in the liver was measured by converting retinyl palmitate to retinol, and then measuring all retinol levels in the sample.…”

“…After all blood was collected, it was centrifuged (2,000 × g for 10 min at 4 °C; Sorvall Legend XFR, ThermoFisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, US) to separate plasma from red blood cells. The plasma was analyzed for vitamin A concentration as the metabolite retinol at the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory (Ames, IA) via ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography using methods described in Greiner et al (2022) .…”