• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.881-887
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• 2018

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary cashew nut testa (CNT) as an alternative feed ingredient to wheat bran on reproductive performance, litter performance, milk composition, and blood profiles of gestating sows. Methods: Forth multiparous sows ($Yorkshire{\times}Landrace$) were fed experimental diets starting at 35 days of pregnancy and an initial average body weight (BW) of $211.53{\pm}8.86kg$. Each sow was assigned to a treatment based on BW, backfat thickness (BF) and parity with 10 sows per treatment. Treatments were as follows: i) corn-soybean meal based diet with 6% of wheat bran (C0); ii) basal diet with 2% of CNT and 4% of wheat bran (C2); iii) basal diet with 4% of CNT and 2% of wheat bran (C4); and iv) basal diet with 6% of CNT (C6). Results: There were no statistically significant differences in BW and BF of gestating sows throughout the experimental period. However, changes in BF (p = 0.09) and the daily feed intake of sows (p = 0.09) tended to linearly increase during the lactation period. The weaning to estrus interval (WEI) showed a quadratic response to CNT treatment (p = 0.02), and the C2 diet showed the shortest WEI. Litter birth weight (p = 0.04) and piglet birth weight (p = 0.06) were linearly decreased with increase in CNT. Furthermore, there had no significant differences in piglet weight and litter weight in 21 day. Insulin concentration at day 70 of gestation was linearly reduced with increasing CNT level in diets (p = 0.03). Conclusion: When 6% CNT replaced wheat bran in gestating sow diets, there were no negative effects on sow performance, but litter birth weight and piglet birth weight were decreased when CNT level increased in gestating sow diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.410-420
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• 2018

Objective: This experiment was to evaluate the effects of the dietary energy levels on the physiological parameters and reproductive performance during gestation over three parities in sows. Methods: A total of 52 F1 gilts ($Yorkshire{\times}Landrace$) were allotted to one of four dietary treatments using a completely randomized design. The treatments contained 3,100, 3,200, 3,300, or 3,400 kcal of metabolizable energy (ME)/kg diet but feed was provided at 2.0, 2.2, and 2.4 kg/d in the first, second and third parity, respectively. Results: The body weight and body weight gain during gestation increased as the dietary energy level increased (p<0.05, and p<0.01) in the first parity. In the second parity, the body weight of sows was the lowest (p<0.05) when 3,100 kcal of ME/kg treatment diet was provided. The body weight was higher as the dietary energy level increased (p<0.05) during the gestation period in the third parity. During lactation, the voluntary feed intake of lactating sows tended to decrease when gilts were fed higher energy treatment diet (p = 0.08) and the body weight, body weight gain were increased by dietary energy level during gestation (p<0.05). Backfat thickness was not affected by dietary treatment during the gestation period in three parities, interestingly backfat change from breeding to d 110 of gestation was higher as the dietary energy level increased at the first parity (p<0.05). When gilts were fed 3,400 kcal of ME/kg treatment diet a higher number of weaning piglets was observed in the first parity (p<0.05). The highest culling rate (69%) was seen when gestating sows were fed 3,100 kcal/kg ME treatment diet during three parities. Conclusion: In conclusion, the adequate energy intake of gestating sows should be 6,400 or 6,600 kcal of ME/d, 7,040 or 7,260 kcal of ME/d, and 7,680 or 7,920 kcal of ME/d for parity 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.11.1-11.9
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• 2014

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on the performance of lactating sows and piglets as well as the immunity of piglets suckling from sows fed CLA. Eighteen multiparous Duroc sows with an average body weight (BW) of $232.0{\pm}6.38kg$ were randomly selected and assigned to two dietary treatments (n = 9 for each treatment), control (no CLA addition) and 1% CLA supplementation. For the control diet, CLA was replaced with soybean oil. Experimental diets were fed to sows during a 28-day lactation period. Litter size for each sow was standardized to nine piglets by cross-fostering within 24 hours after birth. Sow milk and blood samples were taken from sows and piglets after 21 and 27 days of lactation, respectively. Loss of BW was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in sows fed control diet compared to sows fed CLA diet. Piglet weights at weaning and weight gain during suckling were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in sows fed CLA compared to sows fed control diet. Serum non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) and urea nitrogen concentrations were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in sows fed CLA than in sows fed soybean oil. IgG concentrations of the groups supplemented with CLA increased by 49% in sow serum (p < 0.0001), 23% in milk (p < 0.05), and 35% in piglet serum (p < 0.05) compared with the control group. Sows fed CLA showed an increase of 10% in milk yield compared with sows fed soybean oil (p < 0.05), even though there was no difference in daily feed intake between the treatments. Milk fat content was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in sows fed CLA than in sows fed soybean oil. Solid-not-fat yield was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in sows supplemented with CLA than in sows fed control diet and also protein-to-fat ratio in milk was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in sows fed CLA compared with the control group. The results show that CLA supplementation to sows increased milk yield without losing BW during lactation, whereas soybean oil supplementation resulted in severe BW loss.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1470-1477
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• 2006

One hundred and sixty crossbred pigs ($6.62{\pm}0.36kg$) weaned at day $18{\pm}1$ were used to investigate the effects of lactitol and tributyrin on performance, small intestinal morphology and enzyme activity. The pigs were assigned to one of five dietary groups (4 pens/diet with 8 pigs/pen) and were fed the negative control diet or the negative control diet supplemented with 10 g/kg glutamine (as a positive control), or 3 g/kg lactitol (${\beta}$-D-galactopyranosyl-($1{\rightarrow}4$)-D-sorbitol), or 5 g/kg tributyrin (butanoic acid 1,2,3-propanetriyl ester), or 3 g/kg lactitol+5 g/kg tributyrin. Body weight and feed intake were measured weekly during the 4-week study. On day 7, four pigs per dietary treatment were sacrificed to examine small intestinal morphology and enzyme activity. The results showed that: (1) Compared with the negative control diet, the positive control diet improved weight gain and feed efficiency during weeks 1-2 and over the entire study (p<0.05), and also decreased duodenal and ileal crypt depth (p<0.05), but did not alter intestinal enzyme activity (p>0.05). Lactitol improved feed efficiency during weeks 3-4 and over the entire study (p<0.05), but did not improve weight gain and feed intake, intestinal morphology or enzyme activity (p>0.05). Tributyrin improved weight gain and reduced feed/gain during weeks 3-4 and over the entire study. Tributyrin significantly decreased crypt depth in the duodenum and ileum, and increased duodenal lactase and ileal maltase activity (p<0.05). Lactitol+tributyrin increased weight gain during weeks 3-4 and over the entire study, and improved feed efficiency during weeks 1-2 and 3-4 and over the entire study (p<0.05). Lactitol+tributyrin increased the jejunal villus height, and decreased the duodenal and ileal crypt depth (p<0.05). Lactitol+tributyrin also increased jejunal lactase and sucrase activity (p<0.05). (2) Compared with the positive control, tributyrin improved weight gain and reduced feed/gain during weeks 3-4 (p<0.05), decreased the ileal crypt depth, and improved the duodenal lactase and sucrase activity (p<0.05). Lactitol+ tributyrin improved weight gain during weeks 3-4, improved feed efficiency during weeks 3-4 and over the entire study, increased the ileal villus height, and increased jejunal lactase, sucrase and maltase activity (p<0.05). These results showed that tributyrin improved performance, intestinal morphology and enzyme activity, while the effect of lactitol was very limited. These results also showed that, compared with glutamine, tributyrin was more effective in improving intestinal morphology and enzyme activity, and tributyrin exerted a superior effect in improving performance as weaning progressed. These observations suggest that, as a chemical for repairing intestinal atrophy, glutamine and tributyrin should be used in the first and second periods of the starter phase, respectively.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of associating calcium butyrate with tannin extract, compared to an antimicrobial on the growth performance, incidence of diarrhea, intestinal histology, immune-expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in piglets. Methods: Seventy-two piglets (36 barrows and 36 gilts) weaned at 28±2 d and initial body weight of 7.17±1.07 kg were allocated to 3 treatments in a randomized complete block design with 8 replicates per treatment and 3 animals per experimental unit. Treatments were composed of NC, negative control: basal diet without additives; PC, positive control: basal diet + 40 mg/kg of colistin sulfate; or BT, basal diet + calcium butyrate + tannin extract. The butyrate and tannin inclusion levels were 0.15% in the pre-starter phase and 0.075% in the starter phase. Incidence of diarrhea was monitored daily, and on d 14 and 35 of experiment, 1 animal from each experimental unit was slaughtered to collect intestinal samples. Results: No significant differences were observed for growth performance. The butyrate-and tannin-based additive resulted in reduced (p<0.05) incidence of diarrhea in piglets during d 1 to 14 and d 1 to 35 in comparison with the other treatments. Piglets that consumed the diet containing the calcium-butyrate and tannin showed a lower (p<0.05) crypt depth in the duodenum than those receiving the NC treatment at 14 d of experimentation. The BT treatment provided a lower (p<0.05) immune-expression of COX-2 at 14 d and TNF-α at 35 d in the duodenum. Conclusion: Association between calcium butyrate and tannin extract resulted in a significant decrease in the incidence of diarrhea and inflammatory process in the duodenum of piglets. Therefore, calcium-butyrate combined with tannin could be a part of an alternative program to reduce the use of antimicrobials in the diet of weaned piglets.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.264-274
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of β-glucan with vitamin E supplementation on the physiological response, litter performance, blood profiles, immune response, and milk composition of lactating sows. Methods: A total of 50 multiparous F₁ sows (Yorkshire×Landrace) with an average body weight (BW) of 233.6±4.30 kg and an average parity of 4.00±0.307 and their litters were used in this experiment. All sows were allotted to one of five treatments, taking into consideration BW, backfat thickness, and parity in a completely randomized design with 10 replicates. The experimental diets included a corn-soybean meal-based basal diet with or without 0.1% or 0.2% β-glucan and 110 IU vitamin E/kg diet. Results: All treatments added with β-glucan or vitamin E were statistically higher in the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of lactating sows compared to those of the control (Diet, p<0.01). Additionally, the ADFI of lactating sows was significantly higher in the groups supplemented with 0.1% β-glucan compared to 0.2% β-glucan (BG, p<0.01). There was an increasing trend in piglet weight at weaning (BG, p = 0.07), litter weight at the 21st day of lactation (BG, p = 0.07) and litter weight gain (BG, p = 0.08) in groups supplemented with 0.1% β-glucan. The addition of 110 IU vitamin E/kg diet increased vitamin E concentration significantly in lactating sows (VE, p<0.01) and exhibited a trend for higher concentrations of vitamin E (VE, p = 0.09) in piglets. Adding 0.1% β-glucan compared to 0.2% β-glucan induced a decrease in the concentration of tumor necrosis factor-α in lactating sows (BG, p = 0.06) and in piglets (BG, p = 0.09) on the 21st day of lactation. There were no significant differences in the milk composition of sows. Conclusion: Adding 0.1% β-glucan and 110 IU vitamin E/kg to a lactating sow's diet was beneficial to the growth performance of piglets by leading to an increase in the feed intake of sows and efficiently supplying vitamin E to both the sows and piglets.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.321-328
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• 2007

Two pig trials were conducted to test Herb MixⓇ, a mixture of Rehmannia glutinosa, Angelica gigas, Discorea japonica, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Schisandra chinensis and Ligusticum jeholense, as a herbal additive to weaning pig diet. Exp. 1 was conducted with 45 three-way cross-bred(Y×L×D) weaning pigs randomly allocated to 3 treatments; control, Herb MixⓇ 0.15% and Herb MixⓇ Gold(Plellidendron amurense fortified Herb MixⓇ) 0.15%. Exp. 2 was conducted with 48 weaning pigs randomly allocated to 4 treatments; control, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% Herb MixⓇ. There was a significant(p=0.05) difference between the control and herbal additive groups, however, no significant difference was found between Herb MixⓇ and Herb MixⓇ Gold in growth performance of Exp. 1. In Ex. 2, supplementation of Herb MixⓇ at all level(0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3%) significantly(P<0.05) improved average daily gain and feed intake, however, there were no significant differences among supplemented groups. Among the blood parameters, serum IgG level and WBC numbers were significantly lowered by Herb Mix supplementation in both experiments. Stress indicator(SI) was significantly lower in herbal additive groups in Exp. 1. Nutrient digestibility of DM and NFE in supplemented groups was lower than the control in Exp. 1. Howener, it was not significantly different among treatments in Exp. 2. Number(cfu) of fecal E.coli decreased while that of Lactobacilli increased in treated groups. It was concluded that fortifying Herb MixⓇ with Plellidendron amurense was not effective in improving the efficacy of Herb MixⓇ and supplementation of Herb MixⓇ at 0.1~0.2% level improves growth performance of weaning pigs. Blood parameters especially immunity related ones(IgG, WBC and SI) were significantly influenced.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.697-702
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• 2000

The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which the compensatory nutrition regimen modulates lactation performance and milk protein gene expression in the first and second lactation cycles. Female rats(28 days of age) were assigned to 1)control ad libitum ; 2) stari-step compensatory nutrition(SSCN) regimen an alternating 3-2-3-4-week schedule beginning with an energy restriction diet(40% restriction) for 3 weeks followed by the control diet(ad libitum) for 2 weeks and then alternating another 3-4 week feeding regimen. The SSCN rats were received an overall 20% energy restriction(average from all stair-step periods) compared with the conventionally fed control group. Rats were bred during the first week of the second realimentation. All pups were weaned on day 21 of lactation. About 1 week after weaning all dams were mated for the second pregnancy. Mammary tissues were obtained from pregnant and lactating rats during the first and second lactation cycles. During these lactation cycles the SSCN group had a 11% increase in average lactation performance over that of control. The SSCN group had significantly increased levels of milk protein gene($\alpha$- and $\beta$-casein) expression in mammary tissues during the first lactation cycle compared with those of the control group. During the second lactation period the levels of milk protein gene expression in lactating mammary tissues of the SSCN group were also higher than those of the control group. These results suggest that the effects of compensatory growth imposed at an early age extend to the second lactation cycle with regard to increased lactation performance and milk protein gene expression.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.569-577
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• 1996

This study was performed to determine the effect of maternal protein intake on 1) the concentration of immune substances in milk 2) degree of passive immunity to pups via lactation, and 3) specific antibody production to a specific antigen, $\beta$-lactoglobulin(BLG). 4) the effect of passive immunity that pups received from mother during lactation on the production of antibodies when the pups were challenged to the same antigen. Part of the female rats were immunized with BLG before and during pregnancy. The pregnant rats were placed into either 25% or 10% isolated soy protein diet throughout gestation and lactation. After weaning, pups from each group continued to be fed the same diet. At 18 weeks of age, all the pups were challenged with BLG. Total IgA and IgG, lysozyme, BLG-specific IgA and IgG were measured in dam's serum, dam's milk, and pup's serum. Total IgG, and lysozyme in dam's serum and milk were higher in high protein group. Total IgA and IgG in pup's serum remained higher in high protein group from 5 to 18 weeks of age. BLG-specific antibodies were found in the milk and serum of immunized dams, and in serum of pups born to immunized dams but not in the non-immunized group. BLG-specific IgA and IgG were again higher in high protein group and declined with time. The concentration decreased faster in the low proetein group than in the high protein groups. After immunization the pups with LBG, serum BLG-specific antibodies were not differ between rats born to immunized dams and those born to non-immunized dams. Therefore passive immunity rats received via milk as a pup had no effect on the BLG-specific antibody production later in life. This study shows the importance of protein status of mother and strongly support to the endorsement of breast feeding.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.313-322
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• 1982

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of long- term Ginseng administration on metabolism of rats during growing period. A group of pregnant rats was divided into 2 groups, the one was given 18% casein diet and the other, 18% casein diet with ginseng powder 500 mg/kg body was during the gestation and lactation. After weaning, 84 male offsprings were taken at random from the 2 groups. The rats from each group were divided subsequently into 2 groups. Ginseng and control group. The rats were sacrificed at three different times -7, 11, 17 weeks of age. The body weight and amount of food intake were measared during the feeding period. After sacrificing, the weight of some organs, liver glycogen. serum total lipid values, urinary nitrogen and creatinine were examined. The results were analysed by t-test and F-test Results obtained are summarized as follows : 1) Addition of Ginseng did not significantly affect the body weight of rats. 2) The weight of liver, testis, epididymal fat pad were not significantly different between ginseng group and control group during the experimental period. 3) Urinary nitrogen and creatinine did not have significance among all the experimental groups. 4) Amount of liver glycogen was not statistically significant in the ginseng group and control group. 5) The serum total lipid values of rats Iron ginseng group was not statistically different from that of the control group. It can be concluded that Ginseng, 500 mg ginseng powder /kg body wt, does not affect the metabolism of rats under the conditions of this study.