Effect of a supplementation with plant-derived products on sow and piglet physiology during lactation and around weaning | Effet de la supplémentation en produits à base de plantes sur la physiologie des truies et des porcelets pendant la lactation et au sevrage

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إنجليزي. Some plant-derived products are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or anti-bacterial properties. When provided to piglets or their dam, they may improve piglets’ ability to adapt to weaning stress. The effects of a supplementation with plant-derived products on sow and piglet physiology were investigated. Sixty-four sows were assigned to a Control or Extract group. Extract sows received 25 g/d of plant extract (Eleutherococcus senticocus, Uncaria tomentosa and Rosmarinus officinalis) in feed from day of gestation (DG) 106 to day of lactation (DL) 28 and 20 mL of essential oils (from Origanum vulgare and Eucalyptus globulus) on DG109. Within each sow group, 2 mL of essential oils (EO, from Origanum vulgare and Eucalyptus globulus) were administered to all piglets of 1 litter out of 2 at DL3. Piglets were weaned on DL28. Blood was collected from sows on DG94, DG112 and DL26 and from 2piglets/litter on DL25 and 5 d post-weaning to measure indicators of the metabolic, immune, inflammatory and oxidative status. Colostrum and milk were collected at farrowing and on DL6 and DL26. Extract supplementation had no effect on sow physiology except for fewer lymphocytes on DG112 and a lower free-fatty-acid concentration on DL26 (P < 0.05). Extract supplementation reduced fat and haptoglobin concentration in milk on DL26 (P < 0.05). On DL25, EO piglets had a lower granulocyte proportion (P < 0.05), a greater lymphocyte proportion and a lower oxidative stress index (OSI, P < 0.10), regardless of sow treatment. Piglet OSI, haptoglobin concentration and leukocytes number increased after weaning but were not influenced by sow or piglet supplementation. The present combination of plant-derived products could thus modify the composition of sow milk and the immune and inflammatory status of piglets before weaning.

فرنسي. Le sevrage constitue une période critique pour la santé des porcelets. Les stratégies préventives favorisant la maturité des porcelets permettraient d’améliorer leur robustesse au sevrage, à savoir leur capacité à exprimer une croissance optimale sans manifester de problème de santé quelles que soient les conditions de sevrage. Certains produits à base de plantes ayant des propriétés antimicrobiennes, anti-inflammatoires, antioxydantes et immuno-modulatrices (Nehme et al., 2021), nous avons fait l’hypothèse qu’apportés aux porcelets ou dans l’alimentation maternelle, ils pourraient être bénéfiques pour les porcelets au moment du sevrage par une action directe sur les porcelets ou une amélioration du statut physiologique et de la qualité nutritionnelle et immunitaire du colostrum et du lait de leur mère. L’objectif de cette étude est donc de déterminer l’effet d’un apport d’une combinaison d’extraits de plantes et d’huiles essentielles aux truies et/ou aux porcelets sur leur physiologie pendant la lactation et au sevrage.