Effects of supplementing cultured Cordyceps militaris mushroom mycelia in the pregnant sow’s diet on the health and performance of the mothers and their suckling piglets

Present study aimed to evaluate the effects of supplementing cultured Cordyceps mushroom mycelia (CMM) in the diets of pregnant sows on the productivity of the mothers and their suckling piglets during their first week of age. A total of 30 pregnant F1 (Landrace x Yorkshire) sows were randomly allocated to 5 dietary treatments with 6 replicates each: Control (sows fed the basal diet), and T30, T50, T100, and T200, where sows were fed the basal diet supplemented with 30, 50, 100, and 200 g of dried CMM, respectively. The animals were individually housed and fed twice daily. The performance and health status of the sows and their piglets were recorded accordingly. The results showed that the inclusion of CMM in the diets of pregnant and lactating sows affected the performance and health status of both the mothers and their piglets. For the piglets, the total number of piglets born and alive was higher in the T50, T100, and T200 groups compared to the control and T30 groups, but there was no effect on the survival rate at 7 days old. Daily gains per piglet were higher in the T30, T50, and T100 groups compared to T200 (P<0.05). For the sows, daily feed intake was lower in the T30 group compared to the other treatments (P<0.05). The values of gross energy in the milk produced by the sows were higher in the control, T30, T50, and T100 groups compared to T200 (P<0.05). Both the piglets and the sows on diets supplemented with CMM experienced fewer health problems than those on the Control diet (P<0.05). In conclusion, the supplementation of 50 and 100 g of CMM per day in the diets of pregnant and lactating sows improved litter size and health status but did not affect the performance of either the mothers or their piglets.