RESUMO
Introduction and methods: As a crucial antioxidant enzyme, catalase (CAT) could destroy the cellular hydrogen peroxide to mitigate oxidative stress. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal CAT supplementation from late gestation to day 14 of lactation on antioxidant ability and fatty acids metabolism with regard to the sow-piglet-axis. On day 95 of gestation, forty sows were divided into control (CON) group (fed a basal diet) and CAT group (fed a basal diet supplemented with 660 mg/kg CAT), the feeding experiment ended on day 14 of lactation. Results: The lactating sows in the CAT group produced more milk, and had higher antioxidant enzymes activity including POD and GSH-Px (P < 0.05), lower content of serum LDL as well as plasmic C18:3n3 content (P < 0.05). Additionally, maternal CAT supplementation improved offspring's body weight at day 14 of nursing period and ADG (P < 0.05), and regulated the antioxidant ability as evidenced by decreased related enzymes activity such as T-AOC and CAT and changed genes expression level. It significantly affected lipid metabolism of suckling piglets manifested by increasing the serum ALT, CHOL, and LDL (P < 0.05) level and modulating plasma medium- and long-chain fatty acids (MCFAs and LCFAs), as well as regulating the genes expression involved in lipid metabolism. Conclusion: Maternal CAT supplementation could regulate the fatty acid composition and enhance the antioxidant ability of sows and offspring during the lactating period and further promote the growth of suckling piglets. These findings might provide a reference value for the utilization of CAT as supplement for mother from late pregnancy to lactation period to promote the fatty acid metabolism of offspring.
RESUMO
This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of maternal catalase (CAT) supplementation on reproductive performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, mineral transport, and mRNA expression of related genes in sows and offspring. A total of 40 pregnant sows at 95 days of gestation with similar parity (3−5 parities) and back-fat thickness were assigned randomly and equally into the control (CON) group (fed a basal diet) and CAT group (fed a basal diet supplemented with 660 mg/kg CAT; CAT activity, 280 U/g). The reproductive performance was recorded, and the placenta and blood samples of sows and neonatal piglets, as well as the jejunum and ileum samples from neonatal boars (eight replicates per group), were collected. Results showed that dietary supplementation with CAT significantly decreased the intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) rate and increased the activity of serum CAT in neonatal piglets and umbilical cords (p < 0.05). In addition, CAT supplementation tended to improve total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels in the maternal serum (p = 0.089) and umbilical cords of piglets (p = 0.051). The serum calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) of farrowing sows and Mn concentration in the umbilical cord, and serum Ca, magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), and Mn of neonatal piglets were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the CAT group. CAT supplementation downregulated mRNA expression of TRPV6 and CTR1 (p < 0.05), Cu/Zn SOD (p = 0.086) in the placenta and tended to increase the mRNA expression of the glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) (p = 0.084), glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) (p = 0.063), and CAT (p = 0.052) genes in the ileum of piglets. These results showed that the maternal CAT supplementation improved fetal growth by decreasing the IUGR rate, and modulated antioxidant activity, as well as mineral elements in the pregnant sows and their piglets.
