Pre- and post-mating dietary supplements of folic acid and uterine secretory activity in gilts

Abstract

-P. 1997. Pre-and post-mating dietary supplements of folic acid and uterine secretory activity in gilts. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 77: 415-420. The present study was carried out to determine the effects of pre-and (or) post-mating dietary supplements of folic acid on uterine secretions and secretory activity on day 12 of gestation. Crossbred gilts were assigned randomly to three treatments: SS) a dietary supplement of 15 mg of folic acid kg -1 of diet from the estrus before mating (approximately day -21) until day 12 of gestation (n = 9), 0S) the same folic acid supplement from mating (day 0) to day 12 of gestation (n = 10), and 00) no supplement of folic acid (n = 10). At slaughter (day 12 of gestation), one uterine horn was flushed with 20 mL of PBS to collect embryos and uterine flushings, while samples of uterine tissue were collected from the other horn. Supplementary folic acid (0S and SS) increased total folates in uterine flushings (P ≤ 0.05) as well as concentrations of folates in the endometrium (P ≤ 0.0004) and in the whole uterine tissue (endometrium + myometrium: P ≤ 0.0001). Total amounts of prostaglandin (PG)E 2 and PGF 2α in uterine flushings were not affected (P ≥ 0.8) by any treatment but estradiol-17β was numerically 40% lower (P ≥ 0.12) in uterine flushings of 0S and SS sows. Samples of endometrium (15-17 mg) were cultured for 2 to 7 h. Concentrations of PGE 2 and PGF 2α in the culture medium increased with the duration of incubation (P ≤ 0.0001) but there was no treatment effect (P ≥ 0.4). The inconsistency between the folic acid response seen in the present study and in previous results using multiparous sows suggests that the impact of this vitamin on sow reproduction might be linked to the parity (and/or prolificacy) of the animal. . L'objectif de la présente étude visait à déterminer l'effet de compléments alimentaires d'acide folique avant et (ou) après la saillie sur certains aspects de la composition des sécrétions utérines et sur la fonction sécrétrice de l'utérus à 12 jours de gestation chez des truies primipares. Vingt neuf cochettes ont été assignées à trois traitements: SS) un complément alimentaire d'acide folique de 15 ppm à partir de l'oestrus précédant la saillie fécondante (environ -21 jours) jusqu'à 12 jours de gestation (n = 9), 0S) le même complément offert à partir de la saillie jusqu'à 12 jours de gestation (n = 10) et 00) aucun complément d'acide folique dans l'aliment. L'une des deux cornes utérines a été utilisée pour la récolte des embryons et du liquide utérin en vue des dosages hormonaux et métaboliques alors que l'autre corne a servi à la collecte du tissu endométrial. Les concentrations en folates de l'endomètre + myomètre et le contenu total en folates des sécrétions utérines étaient plus élévées (P ≤ 0,05) chez les truies 0S et SS comparativement aux truies 00. Les quantités totales de prostaglandine (PG)E 2 et de PGF 2α dans le liquide utérin n'étaient pas affectées (P ≥ 0,8) par les traitements mais celles de l'oestradiol-17β étaient numériquement 40% plus basse (P...

Reproductive performance and uterine prostaglandin secretion in gilts conditioned with dead semen and receiving dietary supplements of folic acid

“…The synergistic and/or antagonist effect of folic acid supplement on both serum folate binding proteins and uterine conjugase could be responsible for the serum folate response during the estrus cycle and at the beginning of gestation in the present experiment. The lack of treatment effects during gestation is in agreement with the marginal effect observed previously in early gestation (Matte et al 1996;Duquette et al 1997) and is possibly linked to the intense metabolic utilization of folates during that period (Matte and Girard 1999).…”

“…The effects of folic acid on prolificacy (Lindemann and Kornegay 1989), and on uterine secretion of PGE 2 (Duquette et al 1997), are less marked in gilts than in sows. The potential stimulation of uterine immuno-protective activity by folic acid on uterine secretion may be lower in nulliparous than in multiparous sows because the uterus has not yet been sensitized with antigenic factors.…”

Folic acid and vitamin B12 in reproducing sows: New concepts

“…elucidated since B 9 supplementation has been reported to produce no response or only attenuated responses in terms of litter size and embryo survival (Harper et al 1994;, especially in nulliparous sows (Lindemann and Kornegay 1989;Matte et al 1992Matte et al , 1993Giguère et al 2000;Guay et al 2002a). This influence of parity has also been reported for conceptus secretion of E 2 (data not shown), uterine levels of PGE 2 (Duquette et al 1997) and uterine levels of TGFβ 2 (Guay et al 2004b) (Table 1). The parity effect has led researchers to postulate that other aspects of folic acid metabolism could be involved.…”

“…In B 9 -supplemented sows, the uterine level of E 2 on day 15 of pregnancy has been found to be lower than in non-supplemented animals (Duquette et al 1997), without modifying conceptus expression of cytochrome P450 aromatase (Guay et al 2002a), the rate-limiting enzyme that catalyzes E 2 synthesis. also noted lower in vitro secretion of E 2 by conceptus tissue cultures in response to B 9 supplementation in multiparous sows.…”

“…Dietary supplements of vitamin B 9 have been found to increase the uterine concentration of PGE 2 during conceptus attachment (days 12 to 15 of gestation) in sows Duquette et al 1997) and the concentration in allantoic fluid later in gestation (day 25) (Giguère et al 2000;Guay et al 2004b). Nevertheless, endometrial PGE 2 does not always respond to dietary supplementation with vitamin B 9 (Guay et al 2004a).…”