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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2013, Vol. 12 Issue (5): 862-868    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60262-2
Animal Science · Veterinary Science Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Effect of Dietary Folic Acid Supplementation on Growth Performance and Hepatic Protein Metabolism in Early-Weaned Intrauterine Growth Retardation Piglets
 YAO Ying, YU Bing, CHEN Dai-wen, TIAN Gang, MAO Xiang-bing, ZHENG Ping,  LIU Jing-bo
1.Animal Nutrition Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an 625014, P.R.China
2.Key Laboratory for Animal Disease-Resistance Nutrition, Ministry of Education, Ya’an 625014, P.R.China
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摘要  To investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with folic acid on growth performance, hepatic protein metabolism and serum biochemical indices of early-weaned intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) piglets, 24 male (Duroc× (Landrace×Yorkshire)) weaned (14-d-old) IUGR piglets were randomly divided into 3 treatments with 8 replicates of 1 piglet per replicate. The piglets in each treatment were fed basal diet supplementation with either 0 (control), 5 and 10 mg kg-1 folic acid. The trial lasted for 21 d. Dietary folic acid supplementation reduced average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P<0.05). In addition, the average daily gain (ADG) in 10 mg kg-1 folic acid group was significantly decreased (P<0.01) and the ratio of feed:gain (F/G) increased slightly (P>0.05). Serum folic acid concentration increased (P<0.01) with increasing folic acid inclusion, however, serum homocysteine concentration decreased significantly (P<0.01). Enhanced serum urine nitrogen (SUN) and diminished serum total protein (TP) as well as liver TP content were observed in 10 mg kg-1 folic acid group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the relative mRNA expressions of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and mammalian target of rapamycin (m-TOR) in liver were respectively tended to reduce (P=0.06) and significantly downregulated (P<0.05) in 10 mg kg-1 group, in compared with 5 mg kg-1 group. However, when compared with control group, folic acid supplementation had no significant effect on the mRNA abundance of IGF-1 and m-TOR. The results indicated that supplementation with 10 mg kg-1 folic acid impaired growth performance and hepatic protein metabolism of early-weaned IUGR piglets while 5 mg kg-1 folic acid enriched diet exerted limited positive effects.

Abstract  To investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with folic acid on growth performance, hepatic protein metabolism and serum biochemical indices of early-weaned intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) piglets, 24 male (Duroc× (Landrace×Yorkshire)) weaned (14-d-old) IUGR piglets were randomly divided into 3 treatments with 8 replicates of 1 piglet per replicate. The piglets in each treatment were fed basal diet supplementation with either 0 (control), 5 and 10 mg kg-1 folic acid. The trial lasted for 21 d. Dietary folic acid supplementation reduced average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P<0.05). In addition, the average daily gain (ADG) in 10 mg kg-1 folic acid group was significantly decreased (P<0.01) and the ratio of feed:gain (F/G) increased slightly (P>0.05). Serum folic acid concentration increased (P<0.01) with increasing folic acid inclusion, however, serum homocysteine concentration decreased significantly (P<0.01). Enhanced serum urine nitrogen (SUN) and diminished serum total protein (TP) as well as liver TP content were observed in 10 mg kg-1 folic acid group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the relative mRNA expressions of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and mammalian target of rapamycin (m-TOR) in liver were respectively tended to reduce (P=0.06) and significantly downregulated (P<0.05) in 10 mg kg-1 group, in compared with 5 mg kg-1 group. However, when compared with control group, folic acid supplementation had no significant effect on the mRNA abundance of IGF-1 and m-TOR. The results indicated that supplementation with 10 mg kg-1 folic acid impaired growth performance and hepatic protein metabolism of early-weaned IUGR piglets while 5 mg kg-1 folic acid enriched diet exerted limited positive effects.
Keywords:  folic acid       growth performance       protein metabolism       intrauterine growth retardation       piglet  
Received: 31 December 2011   Accepted:
Fund: 

This study was supported by the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-36) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, Ministry of Education of China (IRT0555).

Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence YU Bing, Mobile: 13980174992, E-mail: ybingtian@yahoo.com.cn     E-mail:  ybingtian@yahoo.com.cn

Cite this article: 

YAO Ying, YU Bing, CHEN Dai-wen, TIAN Gang, MAO Xiang-bing, ZHENG Ping, , LIUJing-bo . 2013. Effect of Dietary Folic Acid Supplementation on Growth Performance and Hepatic Protein Metabolism in Early-Weaned Intrauterine Growth Retardation Piglets. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 12(5): 862-868.

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