Maternal Supplementation of DL-Met or OH-Met Above the Requirement in Total Sulfur Amino Acids Benefits to Neonatal Growth of Piglets

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of methionine supplementation above the requirements, as DL-Met (DLM) or OH-Met (HMTBA), during gestation and lactation periods on sows and neonatal piglets’ performance. Thirty cross-bred (Landrace x Yorkshire) primiparous sows were fed with a control (CON), DLM or HMTBA diet from 30 days before farrowing to 21 d post-partum. Diets were formulated to meet NRC (2012) recommendations in amino acids except for total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) which were supplied 25% above the level present in the CON, respectively for DLM and HMTBA diets. Dietary Met content in the CON during the gestation period was 0.29% and 0.32% in the lactation period. Dietary Met+Cys content of the CON was 0.52% and 0.60%, respectively for the gestation and lactation periods. Within 12 h of farrowing, all litters were standardized to have 10 piglets per sow. Body weight and backfat thickness (body score) of sows at day 85 and 110 of gestation and 21 d postpartum were measured. Feed intake was also recorded. The reproductive performance of sows, i.e. litter size, total born alive, birth weight and weight gain of progeny was also measured at lactation d7, 14 and 21. Results showed no significant difference of feed intake, body weight and backfat thickness between sows during the gestation and lactation periods. However, when expressed as bodyweight and backfat thickness changes between d21 and d1, significant differences were observed for these two parameters during the lactation period. Sows in the HMTBA treatment showed the lowest changes in body weight as well as backfat thickness in comparison to the CON and DLM groups (P < 0.05). No significant difference was observed on the litters at birth. At postnatal d 14, piglets in the HMTBA (3.81 ± 0.17 kg) and the DLM (3.64 ± 0.20 kg) groups had higher body weights than those in the CON group (3.06 ± 0.19 kg). Similar results were obtained at d 21 with the highest body weight observed with the HMTBA group (+14% in comparison to the CON). Altogether, these results indicated that maternal supplementation of DL-Met and HMTBA, 25% above the recommended level leads to significant improvement of piglets’ body weight at weaning age.