PSXI-10 - Chronic exposure of Fusarium mycotoxins can impair reproductive performance of sows and growth of their progeny

Abstract: Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of moderate levels of mycotoxins on productive performance of Iberian sows and the subsequent piglet growth from 0 to 42 d after weaning. A mycotoxin deactivator (UP) based on clay, yeast, antioxidant, and botanicals was also evaluated. In experiment 1, a total of 48 Iberian sows were used. Sows were fed a gestation diet from 33 d before farrowing to the arrival of the sows to the farrowing room, and a lactation diet from the arrival to the farrowing room to weaning. Three dietary treatments (16 sows per treatment) were defined for each feeding phase: a negative control diet (NC) low in mycotoxins, and two diets based on a batch of corn with moderate levels of mycotoxins (1.90 mg deoxynivalenol/kg), with (UP) and without (PC) 2.5 kg/t of mycotoxin deactivator. Reproductive performance of the sows and piglet growth were measured from farrowing to weaning. In experiment 2, the effects of the diet fed to the sows on piglet performance were determined from 0 to 42 d after weaning. For this purpose, piglets were weaned and immediately allotted according to the original treatment in groups of 8 and distributed to 30 pens. All piglets received a common commercial diet and performance were measured over the 42 d period. Data on sow and piglet performance were analyzed as a completely randomized design with three treatments and orthogonal contrasts were performed to evaluate the effect of the mycotoxin challenge and of the inclusion of UP. In experiment 1, PC diet decreased alive born piglets and litter size and total weight compared to the NC diet. This effect was alleviated by the inclusion of UP. Litter weight at weaning was numerically highest for the UP diet, a result of a greater litter size compared to the PC diet (6.08 vs. 5.83). On the other hand, ADG of the piglets from 1 d after farrowing to weaning is lower for the NC than for the PC or the UP diets (P = 0.065; 0.153 and 0.172 kg/d, respectively). In experiment 2, the inclusion of UP in the sow diet tended to improve (P = 0.078) FCR of the piglets from 0 to 15 d after weaning and also their body weight uniformity (P < 0.05; 27.4 vs. 20.3% CV). In conclusion, results suggest that the inclusion of the mycotoxin deactivator in sow diets with moderate levels of mycotoxins might be of interest for piglet production in terms of litter weight and piglet performance during the early stages after weaning.