Assessment of the influence of dietary vitamin E on sows and offspring in three parities: reproductive performance, tissue tocopherol, and effects on progeny

Abstract

Sixty crossbred (Yorkshire-Hampshire X Duroc) gilts were fed one of four corn-soybean meal diets fortified with .3 ppm Se and 0, 16, 33, or 66 IU of DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/kg. The study was conducted over a three-parity period to evaluate sow reproductive performance and the vitamin E tissue status of both sows and progeny at various time periods postcoitum and(or) postpartum. The basal diet averaged 8.4 mg of alpha-tocopherol/kg and .38 ppm of Se. Although litter size at birth was lowest (P less than .15) when sows were fed the basal diet, a higher incidence of agalactia when sows were fed the lower dietary vitamin E levels resulted in an increased (P less than .05) litter size at 7 d postpartum as dietary vitamin E increased. Sow serum alpha-tocopherol increased (P less than .01) at each measurement period as dietary vitamin E level increased. Colostrum and milk alpha-tocopherol concentrations increased (P less than .01) as dietary vitamin E level increased, and colostrum values were three to five times higher than at later milks. Colostrum alpha-tocopherol declined by parity from sows fed less than or equal to 16 IU/kg but was similar at each parity for sows fed greater than or equal to 33 IU/kg, resulting in a dietary vitamin E x parity interaction (P less than .01). The Se content of sow milk declined with parity but was not affected by dietary vitamin E level. Sow liver tocopherol at weaning (28 d postpartum) increased (P less than .01) as dietary vitamin E increased and increased with parity (P less than .05). Pig serum and liver alpha-tocopherol concentrations were elevated at birth and 7 and 28 d of age as sow dietary level of vitamin E increased. Upon weaning, pigs were fed a torula yeast-dextrose diet that contained 3.0 mg of alpha-tocopherol/kg and .32 ppm Se for a 28-d postweaning period. Liver and serum alpha-tocopherol concentrations declined during the postweaning period. Evidence of the vitamin E deficiency occurred at 28 d postweaning in the progeny from sows fed the basal diet or 16 IU of vitamin E; the incidence was more prevalent in the pigs from Parities II and III. These results suggest that a supplemental level of 16 IU of vitamin E/kg of diet was inadequate for the reproducing sow; higher levels are justified, particularly when females are retained in the herd for several parities.

Effects of oral micellized natural vitamin E (d-α-tocopherol) v. synthetic vitamin E (dl-α-tocopherol) in feed on α-tocopherol levels, stereoisomer distribution, oxidative stress and the immune response in piglets

“…According to Lauridsen et al (2002), piglet fat and the brain were the only tissues in which α-tocopherol concentrations increased from 7 to 21 days of lactation when mothers were supplemented. Other investigators have found a tendency for greater vitamin E concentration in piglets of sucking sows receiving high levels of DL-α-tocopheryl acetate (Mahan, 1991;Hiridoglou et al, 1993;Pinelli-Saavedra et al, 2008) or D-α-tocopheryl acetate (Mahan et al, 2000) because of the high absorption from sow's milk. The predominant importance of sow over piglet supplementation was observed when α-tocopherol stereoisomers in the muscle at 39 day of age were quantified (Table 4).…”

Assessment of a natural dietary extract, titrated in phenylpropanoid glycosides, on blood parameters and plasma oxidative status in intensively reared Italian hares (Lepus corsicanus)

“…In addition to being stimulated by antioxidants, the increase in plasma values of vitamins A and E is also influenced by the integration of these vitamins in the diet (Mahan, 1991;Hidiroglou et al, 1993;Njeru et al, 1994;Corino et al, 1999;Oriani et al, 2001;Lauridsen et al, 2002).…”

Growth and development of offspring following supplementation of sow diets with oil during early to mid gestation

“…Oils in sow diets during early-to-mid gestation established; bearing in mind that supplementation was given during the first 60 days of gestation only, there are a number of ways in which the increased litter size may be explained: (i) the fatty acid profile of the diet may alter maternal endocrine status (Hornstra and Stegan, 1989), which in turn may affect embryonic survival and the efficiency of placental development; (ii) palm oil is a rich source of the anti-oxidants b-carotene and vitamin E (Duran, 2002;Edem, 2002) and increased intake of vitamin E has previously been linked to increased litter size in pigs (Mahan, 1991;Pinelli-Saavedra, 2003); (iii) palm oil supplementation may result in glucose sparing in the mother, allowing greater glucose availability for the placenta/foetuses as seen in humans and rats (Kim et al, 1995;Jaquier, 1998;Melanson et al, 1999); (iv) palmitic acid (16:0), primarily from the diet during the first half of gestation, but also from lipolysis of maternal adipose tissue during late pregnancy, may be converted into ketones and improve energy availability to the developing placenta/foetuses (Secombe et al, 1977;Shambaugh, 1985) resulting in better piglet metabolic status at birth (Newcomb et al, 1991;Azain, 1993); and (v) the fatty acids present in palm oil may be …”