Supplementation with N-carbamylglutamate and vitamin C: improving gestation and lactation outcomes in sows under heat stress
Tao Feng A , Jiahua Bai A , Xiaoling Xu A , Yong Guo B , Zheng Huang A and Yan Liu A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Science, Beijing, 100097, PR China.
B Beijing Animore Science and Technology Company, Ltd, Beijing, 100193, PR China.
C Corresponding author. Email: liuyanxms@163.com
Animal Production Science 58(10) 1854-1859 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15562
Submitted: 3 February 2015 Accepted: 21 April 2017 Published: 3 July 2017
Abstract
The objective of the study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) or NCG in combination with vitamin C on the gestation and lactation of sows under heat stress during summer. The experiment lasted 51 days from the last month of gestation to weaning (Day 21 of lactation) and involved 100 Yorkshire sows, divided into four groups, fed as follows: (1) Control diet, (2) Control diet plus 0.05% NCG, (3) Control diet plus 0.05% vitamin C, and (4) Control diet plus 0.05% NCG and 0.05% vitamin C. The reproductive performances and partial serum indicators of sows were measured. The results indicated that either NCG or vitamin C administration can ameliorate heat stress and improve the reproductive performance of sows during summer. When administering NCG and vitamin C, litter weights (16.12/13.86 kg, P < 0.05) and average weights of living piglets (1.56/1.34 kg, P < 0.05), rather than numbers born alive (10.47/10.30 head, P > 0.05), were greatly increased at farrowing, and subsequently litter weights (59.69/48.61 kg, P < 0.05) and average weights of living piglets (6.00/5.16 kg, P < 0.05) at weaning were greatly increased in comparison with Controls. The combinational additives can decrease malonaldehyde and cortisol levels, and enhance immunoglobulin G level in the maternal circulation, as well as decrease the respiration rate and increase feed intake of sows. The results demonstrate that NCG in combination with vitamin C can enhance piglet weight rather than number during gestation and lactation and has important implications for anti-heat stress during summer.
Additional keywords: interaction, later pregnancy, piglets weight.
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