Supplementation of Sows with L-Carnitine during Pregnancy and Lactation Improves Growth of the Piglets during the Suckling Period Through Increased Milk Production

Abstract

Recent studies showed that piglets of sows fed diets supplemented with L-carnitine grow faster during the suckling period than piglets of control sows fed diets without L-carnitine. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of L-carnitine supplementation in sows on milk production and milk constituents. An experiment was performed in which two groups of 20 gilts each were fed diets with or without supplemental L-carnitine during pregnancy (0 vs. 125 mg L-carnitine daily/sow) and lactation (0 vs. 250 mg L-carnitine daily/sow). The experiment was continued over two reproductive cycles. L-carnitine-treated sows had larger litters (P<0.01) and higher litter weights (P<0.05) than control sows. Piglets of L-carnitine-treated sows had lower birth weights (P<0.05) but grew faster during the suckling period (P<0.01) and were heavier (P<0.05) at weaning than piglets of control sows. L-carnitine-treated sows had higher milk yields on d 11 and 18 of lactation than control sows (P<0.05). Milk of L-carnitine-treated sows had higher concentrations of total and free carnitine than milk of control sows (P<0.001); concentrations of fat, protein and lactose and the amounts of gross energy in the milk did not differ between the two groups of sows. The amounts of protein (P<0.05) and lactose (P<0.05) were higher in L-carnitine-treated sows than in control sows; the amount of energy secreted with the milk tended to be higher in carnitine-treated sows than in control sows (P<0.10). The study suggests that piglets of carnitine-treated sows grow faster during the suckling period than those of control sows because they ingest more nutrients and energy with the milk.

Metanálise da relação entre espessura de toicinho e variáveis corporais e reprodutivas de porcas gestantes e lactantes

“…Foram utilizados 14 artigos distribuídos nos continentes europeu e americano, publicados de 2000 a 2006 em revistas indexadas internacionais (PRUNIER et al, 2001, SINCLAIR et al, 2001COOPER et al, 2001a, CLOWES et al, 2003MAES et al, 2004;RAMANAU et al, 2004;VAN DER PEET-SCHWERING et al, 2004;YOUNG et al, 2004;RENSIS et al, 2005;YOUNG et al, 2005b;LANDBLOM et al, 2006) e nacionais (GUEDES & NOGUEIRA, 2000;HASHIMOTO et al, 2004;LIMA et al, 2006). As informações relevantes das seções de material e métodos e resultados de cada artigo foram inseridas numa base de dados elaborada em planilha Excel.…”

effect of ascorbic acid as a feed additive on indicators of the reproductive performance of Pulawska breed gilts

“…According to Ramanau et al (24), L-carnitine has a positive influence on the growth and development of the fetus, resulting in the increase of birth weight and thus reducing the number of piglets with low birth weight and dead-born ones. Stress is a negative contributor to abortion, as well as it results in lower actual fertility and birth weight of a litter (24). Mahan and Saif (17) speculate that vitamin C may have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract of piglets.…”

“…Some reports revealed, however, that the risk of vitamin C deficiency in pigs is significantly greater than it was previously thought (1,4,12,16,39). An increased physical efficiency of an organism is noticeable after additional vitamin C supplementation, which is probably a consequence of stimulating the activity of hydroxylases involved in the synthesis of carnitine and improving the mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (24,27). The requirement for ascorbic acid increases rapidly in stressful situations, e.g.…”

Metanálise da relação entre espessura de toicinho e variáveis nutricionais de porcas gestantes e lactantes

“…Foram utilizados 14 artigos publicados de 2000 a 2006, em revistas indexadas internacionais (PRUNIER et al, 2001;SINCLAIR et al, 2001;COOPER et al, 2001;CLOWES et al, 2003a;MAES et al, 2004;RAMANAU et al, 2004; VAN DER PEET-SCHWERING et al, 2004;YOUNG et al, 2004;RENSIS et al, 2005;YOUNG et al, 2005b;LANDBLOM et al, 2006) e nacionais (GUEDES & NOGUEIRA, 2000;HASHIMOTO et al, 2004;LIMA et al, 2006). As tabelas do NRC (1998) e de ROSTAGNO et al (2000) foram avaliadas juntamente com os resultados da metanálise.…”