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Butyric acid (C4:0) is a short chain fatty acid produced naturally by microbial fermentation in the large intestine of the animals. It has been related to enhanced animal performance, as it inhibits the colonization and proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms and improves the integrity of the intestinal mucosa. However, because of its characteristics, its inclusion in pig diets occurs as butyrate, sodium butyrate being the most used form. The aim of the present study was to assess the dietary supplementation of sodium butyrate in mixed-parity sows during lactation and on their reproductive performance, milk composition and litter performance. For that purpose, a total of 192 sows were distributed in a completely randomized design in a 4×4 factorial arrangement, considering 4 experimental diets and 4 parity order groups (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th to 7th), a total of 16 treatments with 12 replicates each, considering each sow and their litter as experimental unit. The experimental diets consisted of: diet without sodium butyrate (1), diet with 0.1% (2) and 0.2% (3) coated sodium butyrate, and diet with 0.066% uncoated sodium butyrate (4).
As a result, dietary supplementation of sodium butyrate did not influence the reproductive performance of sows and the productive performance of piglets during lactation. However, there was an effect of parity orders on body weight at farrowing and weaning, average daily feed intake and estimated daily milk production of the sows, having the 5th to 7th parity sows the best productive performance. Similar results were observed on litter weight at 48h post-farrowing and at weaning, and on the daily weight gain of the litter. Moreover, there was interaction between the supplementation of sodium butyrate and the parity orders in caprylic, myristic and arachidonic acids in the milk of sows. The butyric acid in the milk was influenced by dietary supplementation of sodium butyrate and parity orders.
It was concluded that, dietary supplementation of coated and uncoated sodium butyrate for lactating sows modified the milk fatty acid profile, but did not affect sow performance nor the performance of their progenies during lactation. Furthermore, 5th to 7th parity sows showed better productive performance and heavier litter at 48h post-farrowing and at weaning when compared to primiparous sows.
Vieira, E. H. M., Watanabe, P. H., Andrade, T. S., Araújo, G. G. A., Silva, B. A. N., Pinheiro, R. R. S., & Mendonça, I. B. (2020). Dietary supplementation of sodium butyrate for mixed-parity sows during lactation. Livestock Science, 103915.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.103915