L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE AS A VITAMIN-C SOURCE FOR SEGREGATED AND CONVENTIONALLY WEANED PIGS

We conducted two experiments to evaluate the efficacy of a stable sour ce of vitamin C for improving performance and iron status in early-wea ned pigs. A preparation of L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (Rovimix(R) Stay -C(R) 25, Roche Vitamins, Ames, IA and Bramus, NJ), which supplies 25% ascorbic acid activity in a stable form, served as the vitamin C sour ce and was incorporated at dietary vitamin C levels of 0, 75, or 150 p pm. In Exp. 1, 72 pigs (14 +/- 2 d of age and 4.98 kg BW) were blocked based on initial BW and penned in groups of three (eight pens per tre atment) in an off-site nursery for 42 d. Phase 1 lasted from d 0 to 14 , Phase 2 from d 14 to 28, and Phase 3 from d 28 to 42 after weaning. Daily gain and gain:feed ratio (G/F) increased during Phase 1 (quadrat ic, P < .1 and P < .05, respectively), Phase 3 (linear, P < .1 and P < .01, respectively), and for the overall 42-d experiment (linear, P < .05 and P < .1, respectively) in response to increasing dietary vitami n C. At 14 d after weaning, plasma vitamin C increased (linear, P < .0 5) with increasing dietary vitamin C, but plasma iron, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were not influenced by dietary vitamin C. In Exp. 2, 120 p igs (20 +/- 3 d of age and 7.2 kg BW) were blocked based on initial BW and penned in groups of five (eight pens per treatment) in a conventi onal nursery system for 31 d. Phase 1 consisted of d 0 to 7, Phase 2 f rom d 7 to 17, and Phase 3 from d 17 to 31 after weaning. During the p eriod from d 0 to 17 after weaning, ADG and G/F were improved (linear, P < .1) with increasing dietary vitamin C. At d 17 after weaning, pla sma vitamin C and serum iron increased (linear, P < .05), but unbound iron-binding capacity and total iron-binding capacity decreased (linea r, P < .05 and P < .1, respectively) with increasing dietary vitamin C . These results suggest that dietary vitamin C is needed during the fi rst 42 d after weaning when pigs are weaned as early as 12 d of age an d reared in an offsite nursery and during the first 17 d after weaning when pigs are weaned as early as 17 d of age and reared in a conventi onal nursery system. L-Ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate at a supplemental leve l of 75 ppm was adequate to meet the dietary vitamin C requirement of early-weaned pigs. Vitamin C supplementation with a stable product wil l improve performance in young pigs during the high-stress postweaning period and may be particularly beneficial to pigs weaned at a very ea rly age.