CARNITINE CHROMIUM AFFECT BLOOD PARAMETERS OF GESTATING SOWS FED ONCE PER DAY

摘要

The roles of carnitine and chromium in energy metabolism are well established. Research has shown that sow reproductive and litter performance are improved when diets contain L-carnitine (2) or chromium tripicolinate (1). Recently, it was observed that farrowing rate and total number of pigs born were additively increased when both carnitine and chromium where fed to sows for two parities (4). We believe the beneficial responses observed from feeding sows carnitine or chromium are reflective of improvements in energy status of the sows. However, little research has been conducted to test this hypothesis. Also, no research has been conducted to test the influence of a combination of both carnitine and chromium on energy status. Therefore, this experiment was designed to determine the effects of L-carnitine and/or chromium tripicolinate on diurnal changes of blood parameters (as indicators of energy status) from gestating sows fed one meal per day.