Browsing by Subject "Sows"

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    Development of the small intestine of piglets in response to prenatal elevation of glucocorticoids
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 1991) Bate, L.A.; Ireland, William P.; Connell, B.J.; Grimmelt, B.
    The effects of prenatal adrenal stimulation and synthetic glucocorticoicl supplementation on developrncnt of the gastro-intestinal tract of the piglet were investigated. Twelve pregnant sows were treated with either ACTH infusion. Isoflupredone injection or Saline between days I05 and 112 of gestation. Neonatal pigs were weighed. bled and sacrificed at 0 or at 6 h. Piglets sacrificed at 6 h were fed bovine colostrum. Trailsvcrse sections were prcpared from the duucienuin. i e j ~ ~ n uman cl ileum for measurcment of thc villus amplification factor (VAF) and basal membrane circunifercnce. Sows in the ACTH group showed an cle\,ation in cortisol in response to infusion: this decreased aftcr infusion and then rose again at parturition. Piglcts from both the ACTH and Saline groups had more villus surface area per unit of body weight (BW) than those born to Isotluprcdone-treated animals. The BW of the ACTH piglets was lowcr (P < 0.05) than those of piglets in the other groups. Whcn the weight of thc stomach and the Small Intestine (SI) was cxpressetl as a function of thc body weight, tlic stomach and S1:BW ratio was larger (p < 0.05) in pigs born to ACTH-treated sows. The circumfcrence of the ilcurn was larger at 6 h than at 0 h. Control pigs had a higher concentration of bovine IgG at 4 and 6 h (P < 0.05). Observations of thc light microscvpic preparations indicated a less organized epithelium in both ACTH and isotluprcdone pigs sacrificed at O Ii. Light and EM preparations of ileum from ACTH pigs sacrificed at 6 h. showcd an abundance of dark-stained vacuoles. characteristic of IgG-containing structures. These became lcss evident in piglets from the Isotlupredone group and even less so in thc control groups. The consequences of these phenomena in terms of absorptive capacity are discusscd.
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    Effect of Parity on Reproductive Performance and Composition of Sow Colostrum during First 24 h Postpartum
    (MDPI, 2020-10-12) Segura, Mónica M.; Martínez-Miró, Silvia; López, Miguel J.; Madrid, Josefa; Hernández, Fuensanta; Producción Animal
    The aim of this study is to assess the e ects of parity number on sow reproductive performance and the chemical and immunological composition of colostrum and immunoglobin concentrations in the sera of the sows. Colostrum samples were collected at 0, 6 and 24 h after the births of the first piglets from 56 sows with di erent numbers of parturitions (ranging 1–6). The piglets born alive to primiparous sows had lower birth weights (p < 0.05) than piglets from second and fourth parturition sows. The colostrum composition was influenced (p < 0.05) by parity number: primiparous sows had higher concentrations of dry matter, fat, lactose and non-fat-solids. No parity-dependent di erences were found concerning total protein amount. Colostrumcomposition was drastically a ected (p < 0.001) by sampling time—the highest concentrations of dry matter and protein and lowest concentrations of fat and lactose were found immediately after parturition (0 h). The study revealed no e ect of parity (p 0.05) on the concentrations of immunoglobulins in colostrum. The immunoglobulin with the highest level in sow serum at day 110 of gestation was IgG, while IgA showed the lowest values and greater variability with respect to parity from an immunological point of view. Regarding the relationship between serum Ig levels at the end of gestation and colostrum Ig, serum IgG showed a strong correlation with colostrum IgG and IgM, while colostrum IgG was strongly related with colostrum IgM, but not with IgA. IgA did not correlate with any other immunoglobulin. The di erent behaviors of the immunoglobins in colostrum were probably due to IgG coming almost exclusively from the sows’ sera, whereas IgA is mainly synthetized by the mammary gland