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Sixty-three sows were studied in a 2x3 factorial design, with two environmental temperatures (termoneutral vs hot) and three dietary treatments, including a basal diet (0.96% Arg, CT), a diet containing 1.34% Arg (Medium, ME), and a diet containing 1.73% Arg (High, HI). At different stages of the lactation, and after the morning meal, blood samples were collected from the animals to determine insulin, glucose, growth hormone (GH) and prolactin concentrations. The sows were submitted to a 12 hours period of fasting the previous night in order to ensure the complete consumption of the meal.
Results showed that there was not an effect of the temperature on concentrations of any of the blood measurements, result that may be due to the standardized feed intake conditions. On the contrary, dietary Arg supplementation determined reduced concentrations of GH with the ME compared to the CT diet (P < 0.05). Increases in insulin concentrations were found during the mid lactation in sows fed HI diet compared to CT, result that could indicate a lessened catabolic state of sows.
Authors conclude that supplementation of L-arginine during lactation may have beneficial effects on the catabolic state of lactating sows via alterations on their insulin status.
J Pérez Laspiur, C Farmer, BJ Kerr, A Zanella, NL Trottier. 2006. Canadian Journal of Animal Science. Vol 86:373-377
