Medicine against stillbirth of piglets found in human pharmacy

Dietary nitrates, which are used by athletes to enrich the body with oxygen, were proposed by Dutch scientists to be used in pig breeding.

A group of scientists from Wageningen University published their work on the effects of dietary nitrates on pig HEALTH in Animals 2021 on the MDPI portal.

“Stillborn piglets are a big loss and a problem in industrial pig production. For example, in superfertile sows in Denmark, the percentage of stillborn piglets increased to an average of 10.2% in 2019.

Stillbirth is usually associated with intrauterine asphyxia or dystocia, where the placenta and umbilical cord play a crucial role. Fetal asphyxia during labor can be partly explained by: (1) compression of the umbilical cord and placenta due to successive uterine contractions or fetal entry into the pelvis; (2) loss of umbilical cord functionality (eg, rupture, knots, etc.); (3) placental abruption.

In addition, stillbirths are related to the duration of farrowing: an increase in the percentage of stillbirths was observed from 2.7% to 10.7% and 27.3% when the duration of farrowing increased from less than 2 hours to 4–6 hours and more than 8 hours, respectively.

Recently, the effect of dietary nitrates on farrowing duration and stillbirth risk has been studied. These sports supplements for humans cause vasodilatation, which improves blood flow and therefore the flow of oxygen in the body, i.e. endurance.

it can be assumed that comparable effects may be beneficial for sows.

By providing more blood flow, and therefore a flow of oxygen and nutrients, to the placenta and umbilical cord during farrowing, the risk of suffocation and stillbirth can be reduced.

Nitrate (NO 3 ) itself is inert, but after being converted to nitrite (NO 2 ), which is mainly facilitated by bacteria in the mouth, it is further reduced to nitric oxide (NO, due to the denitrification of anaerobic bacteria or the acidity of the periodontium, which is a vasoactive component .

The experiment was carried out on a commercial farm in Holstebro, Denmark in 2015. In three consecutive batches, 120 hyperproducing hybrid sows (Landrace x Yorkshire: Dunbred) received either a control diet or a diet containing a commercial supplement of -0.1% calcium nitrate with 63.1% nitrate).

The experimental rations were fed twice a day (7.00 am and 3.00 pm) from 112 days of gestation to 4 days after farrowing (depending on the sow's individual farrowing date).

The number of piglets born alive, stillborn or dead from birth to weaning was recorded, weights were measured and the placenta was visually assessed.

There was no effect of nitrate supplementation on piglet weight, piglet growth, placental erythema score, and pre-weaning mortality during lactation. The addition of nitrates to the diet of sows reduced the percentage of stillbirths by 2.5%.

It can be concluded that the addition of dietary nitrates to the diet shows the potential to reduce stillbirth rates in superfetal sows.”