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Over the years, sows have become more prolific and produce large, heavy litters with increased daily gains and high requirements for energy consumption from milk. Increasing energy and nutrient retention from feed is crucial to maintain performance while keeping feed costs reasonable. The addition of digestive enzymes and emulsifiers within the feed of sows has also been used to aid in digestion, absorption, and retention of fat and other nutrients. Lysolecithin is one of the most studied emulsifying agents and its use can improve energy digestibility, retention and may be able to help sows maintain condition and performance during lactation. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of lysolecithin in sows’ diets during the last three weeks of the gestation period and throughout the lactation period on performance and metabolic parameters. For that aim, a total of 60 sows were allocated to two treatments: (a) control group: the sows were fed commercially control diets; (b) lysolecithin group: the sows were fed the control diets supplemented with 750 g/t of feed supplemented with lysolecithin.
As a result, backfat was lower in the lysolecithin group than the control group at end of gestation and at weaning, while the control sows mobilized more backfat between day 14 to weaning. Litter weight at weaning was higher in the lysolecithin group. Fasted glucose levels at day 14 of lactation tended to be lower in the lysolecithin group compared to the control. Urea concentrations were higher in the lysolecithin group than in the control group at day 14. Lysolecithin supplemented sows compared to the control mobilized less tissue during lactation to support lactation demands.
In conclusion, lysolecithin supplementation in sows resulted in improved litter weight at weaning without an excessive catabolism of backfat tissue, most probably due to an efficient nutrient utilization.
Papadopoulos GA, Wealleans AL, Delis GA, Janssens GP, di Benedetto M, Fortomaris P. Effects of Dietary Lysolecithin Supplementation during Late Gestation and Lactation on Sow Reproductive Performance, Sow Blood Metabolic Parameters and Piglet Performance. Animals. 2022;12(5): 623. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050623
