Maternal sodium acetate supplementation promotes lactation performance of sows and their offspring growth performance

Yingao Qi; Tenghui Zheng; Siwang Yang; Qianzi Zhang; Baofeng Li; Xiangfang Zeng; Yongxing Zhong; Fang Chen; Wutai Guan; Shihai Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.aninu.2023.04.003

Maternal sodium acetate supplementation promotes lactation performance of sows and their offspring growth performance

Anim Nutr. 2023 Apr 25:14:213-224. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2023.04.003. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Yingao Qi¹, Tenghui Zheng¹, Siwang Yang¹, Qianzi Zhang¹, Baofeng Li¹, Xiangfang Zeng², Yongxing Zhong³, Fang Chen^{1

4

5}, Wutai Guan^{1

4

5}, Shihai Zhang^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition Control, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
³ Chia Tai Conti Agri-Husbandry Group Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
⁴ College of Animal Science and National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
⁵ Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Milk yield and composition are critical determining factors for the early growth and development of neonates. The objective of this experiment was to comprehensively evaluate the effects of dietary sodium acetate (SA) supplementation on the milk yield and composition of sows and the growth performance of their offspring. A total of 80 sows (Landrace × Yorkshire, 3 to 6 parity) were randomly assigned to 2 groups (with or without 0.1% SA) from d 85 of gestation to d 21 of lactation. The result shows that maternal 0.1% SA supplementation significantly increased sows milk yield, milk fat, immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG content in milk (P < 0.05), with the up-regulation of short-chain fatty acids receptors (GPR41 and GPR43) expression and the activation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex C1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway. Consistently, in our in vitro experiment, SA also activated mTORC1 signaling in porcine mammary epithelial cells (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the improvement of milk quality and quantity caused by maternal SA supplementation led to the increase in body weight (BW) and average daily weight gain (ADG) of weaning piglets, with the improvement of gut health and colonization of the beneficial bacteria (P < 0.05). In conclusion, maternal supplementation of 0.1% SA improved the lactation performance (milk yield and milk fat) of sows, possibly with the activation of GPR41/GPR43-mTORC1 signaling. Furthermore, enhanced milk quality improved growth performance, gut health and the colonization of beneficial microbial flora of their piglets.

Keywords: Gut health; Lactation performance; Milk fat; Sodium acetate; Sow.