Increased survival of neonatal pigs by supplementing medium-chain triglycerides in late-gestating sow diets

Two experiments were conducted to study the efficacy and causes of medium-c hain triglycerides (MCT) in sow diet in improving the survival of neonatal pigs. in Experiment 1, beginning on d84 of gestation and continuing through d28 of lactation, 51 sows were fed corn-soybean meal diet mixed with eithe r soybean oil (SO; n=17), coconut oil (CO; n=18), or MCT (n=16) in a propor tion of 9 : 1 by weight. The highest improvement in survival of pigs by sow s fed MCT (p<0.01) or CO (p<0.05) was observed during the first three days after birth in pigs weighing <1100 g at birth, compared with sows fed SO. T heir three-day survival was 98.6, 80.0 and 47.6%, respectively, for MCT, CO and SO groups. In Experiment 2, beginning on d84 of gestation and continui ng through farrowing, 24 sows, 8 sows per treatment, were fed diets as in E xperiment 1. Liver glycogen content of pigs 4 h after born from sows fed MC T (p<0.10) and CO (p<0.01), and muscle glycogen of pigs from sows fed MCT ( p<0.01) and CO (p<0.10) were increased, compared to those of pigs from sows fed SO. Plasma albumin was increased by MCT and CO (p<0.01), relative to S O. The results suggest that MCT or CO in sow diets may enhance the body gly cogen stores and maturity of pigs at birth and, hence, their survival, part icularly in pigs with low birth weight during the first three days of life. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.