Evaluating Maternal Vitamin D Supplementation on Sow and Subsequent Pig Performance - Dr. Josh Flohr, Nutritionist, NutriQuest, from the 2016 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, September 17-20, 2016, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. More presentations at http://www.swinecast.com/2016-leman-swine-conference-material

1. J. R. Flohr
Leman Conference 2016

2. Absorption and Metabolism
• Ingested or endogenously
produced vitamin D is
converted to 25(OH)D in
the liver by 25-hydroxylase
enzyme.
• 25(OH)D has a 10 d to 3 wk
half-life in circulation.
• 25(OH)D is hydroxylated at
1st carbon by 1α-
hydroxylase to the
biologically active form
1,25(OH)2D.
(IOM, 1997)

3. Vitamin D3 vs. 25OHD3 as a form of the
vitamin for livestock nutrition
• A synthetically produced 25OHD3 product is available
internationally for animal feeding and domestically for poultry
nutrition.
• Efficiency of absorption, requires one less metabolic step, is
not the fat stored form.
1 IU = 0.025 μg of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3)
Based on IU equivalency, 2,000 IU or 50 μg of vitamin D3 = 2,000
IU or 50 μg of 25OHD3

4. Research examining D3 and 25OHD3 in
swine
Authors
Publication
Date Serum 25OHD3 Performance criteria Bone status Muscle fiber
Lauridsen et al. 2010 N/A
Witschi et al. 2011 N/A
Coffey et al.
Hines et al.
2012 N/A
Weber et al. 2014 N/A
The variability in experimental designs, and
response criteria make it difficult to interpret
results.

5. Research Questions
• If 25OHD3 (2,000 IU/kg) supplementation
increases vitamin status of the sow, does this
cause improved performance.
• Can increasing vitamin D3 supplementation elicit
the same response? (form vs. status comparison)
• What level of vitamin D3 is needed to elicit a
similar serum 25OHD3 response as
supplementing 2,000 IU of 25OHD3 itself?
• If supplemental vitamin D influences fetal muscle
development, can it lead to postnatal growth
alterations?

6. January and February 2014

7. Objectives
• Measure the serum 25OHD3 response from
feeding titrated concentrations of dietary
vitamin D3 to the gestating sow.
• Use results to develop a prediction equation
to estimate the concentration of vitamin D3
needed to achieve serum 25OHD3 similar to
feeding 2,000 IU of 25OHD3.

8. Materials and Methods
• A total of 56 gestating sows (PIC 1050) from 2 consecutive
breeding groups were used.
• On d 35 post insemination, sows were randomly assigned to
1 of 7 dietary vitamin D3 treatments (200, 800, 1,600, 3,200,
6,400, 12,800, 25,600 IU of vitamin D3/kg of the complete
diet).
• Sows were fed 2.5 kg of the gestation diet at 0800 everyday.
• On d 0 and 30, blood was collected via jugular venipuncture.
• Serum was analyzed for serum 25OHD3.
• Results were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of
SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) with sow as the experimental
unit.

9. Effects of vitamin D3 on gestating sow
serum 25OHD3
46
40
46 44 46 48 44
37 36
46
52
74
91
122
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
200 800 1,600 3,200 6,400 12,800 25,600
Serum25OHD3,ng/mL
Dietary vitamin D3, IU/kg of the complete diet
0
30
Day
SEM = 6.6
Treatment × day interaction, P < 0.001
*Quadratic vitamin D3, P < 0.001
*

10. Prediction equation for serum 25OHD3 after
supplementing titrated vitamin D3 in gestating sows
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0 8,000 16,000 24,000 32,000 40,000 48,000 56,000 64,000
Serum25OHD3,ng/mL
Dietary vitamin D3, IU/d
Serum 25OHD3, ng/mL = 35.1746 + (0.002353 × dietary vitamin
D3, IU/d) – (0.0000000156 × dietary vitamin D3, IU/d2)
R2 = 0.852

11. Conclusions
• Increasing supplementation of dietary vitamin D3
increased serum 25OHD3 in the gestating sow in a
quadratic manner.
• Results from Weber et al. (2014) found that sows
supplemented 2,000 IU of 25OHD3 had serum
concentrations between 50 and 90 ng/mL.
• In order to ensure a serum response we chose to
supplement vitamin D3 at 9,600 IU/kg or 24,000 IU/d in
gestation which would result in a predicted serum
25OHD3 response of 80 ng/mL during the gestation
period.

12. April to December 2014

13. Materials and Methods
• A total of 112 sows (PIC 1050) and their litters from 4 consecutive
farrowing groups were used.
• After breeding, sows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 dietary
vitamin D treatments receiving: low (800 IU/kg), medium (2,000
IU/kg), or high (9,600 IU/kg) concentrations of vitamin D3, or
2,000 IU/kg of 25OHD3 .
• Dietary treatments were fed throughout gestation and lactation.
• Sows were fed 2.5 kg of the gestation diet at 0800 everyday.
• Sows were bled on d 0 and 100 of gestation, with 24 h after
farrowing and at weaning to determine 25OHD3.
• Sow BW and BF were measured to calculate BW gain and loss and
BF loss.
• Lactation ADFI was determined by measuring feed disappearance.

14. Sow serum 25OHD3
27.6 25.1
34.629.2 26.1
50.9
82.5
68.2
110.6
59.5 55.4
94.6
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
d 0 d 100 Farrowing Weaning
Serum25OHD3,ng/mL
a,b,c a,b,c
SEM = 3.5
Maternal × day interaction, P < 0.001
Gestation
Vit. D3, IU/kg
25OHD3, IU/kg
800
2,000
9,600
2,000
a,b,c
a = vitamin D3 linear, P < 0.001
b = 2,000 IU vitamin D3 vs. 25OHD3, P < 0.001
c = 9,600 IU vitamin D3 vs. 25OHD3, P < 0.005

15. Pre-weaned pig serum 25OHD3
2.0
4.3
2.2
7.0
5.5
16.3
3.5
6.1
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
Birth Weaning
Serum25OHD3,ng/mL
Vitamin D3, IU/kg
800
2,000
9,600
25OHD3, IU/kg
2,000
w = vitamin D3 linear, P < 0.001
x = vitamin D3 quadratic, P = 0.033
y = 2,000 IU vitamin D3 vs. 25OHD3, P < 0.001
z = 9,600 IU vitamin D3 vs. 25OHD3, P < 0.001
w,y,z x,z

16. Conclusions
• Maternal vitamin D regimen altered serum
25OHD3 concentrations in the sow and pre-
weaned pig.
• The differences in serum 25OHD3 of pigs at
weaning suggests that milk vitamin D transfer is
more dependent on the level of the vitamin
supplemented maternally rather than the form.
• Maternal vitamin D regimen did not impact
maternal performance, neonatal bone ash
percentage, neonatal muscle fiber numbers, or
pre-weaned pig growth.

17. September 2014 to May 2015

18. Objectives
• To determine whether maternal vitamin D and
nursery vitamin D regimens influence post-
weaning growth performance.

19. Materials and Methods
• A total of 448 pigs from two weaning groups
were used in a split-plot design to evaluate
maternal and nursery vitamin D regimens.
• At weaning, pigs were penned based on their
maternal treatment and pens were randomly
assigned to 1 of 2 nursery vitamin D treatments
(2,000 IU of vitamin D3/kg or 2,000 IU of
25OHD3/kg of the diet).
• Pigs received the same vitamin D treatment in
three consecutive nursery dietary phases fed
from weaning until 35-d post-weaning.

20. Growth Performance
Maternal Vitamin D Probability, P <
Vitamin D3 25OHD3 Vitamin D3 2,000 D3
vs.
25OHD3
9,600 D3
vs.
25OHD3
Item 800 2,000 9,600 2,000 SEM Lin Quad
Nursery growth
d 0 to 35
ADG, kg 0.42 0.44 0.43 0.45 0.016 0.729 0.003 0.917 0.105
ADFI, kg 0.65 0.70 0.67 0.69 0.024 0.853 0.002 0.929 0.437
G:F 0.638 0.632 0.639 0.647 0.0062 0.708 0.407 0.236 0.709
Finishing growth
d 35 to Market
ADG, kg 0.93 0.96 0.94 0.96 0.01 0.602 0.005 0.916 0.220
ADFI, kg 2.56 2.59 2.57 2.63 0.024 0.981 0.492 0.558 0.327
G:F 0.368 0.377 0.374 0.373 0.0062 0.610 0.049 0.740 0.997
Average BW, kg
d 0 6.5 6.8 6.6 6.6 0.06 0.566 0.001 0.371 0.985
d 35 21.1 22.3 21.8 22.3 0.52 0.555 0.001 0.997 0.141
Market 132.6 136.5 134.9 137.5 2.95 0.480 0.006 0.866 0.240

21. Growing pig serum vitamin
metabolites
0
10
20
30
40
50
Weaning D 17 D 35 D 70
Serum25OHD3,ng/mL
a = Maternal vitamin D3 linear, P < 0.001
b = Maternal vitamin D3 quadratic, P < 0.001
c = Maternal 2,000 IU vitamin D3 vs. 2,000 IU 25OHD3, P < 0.05
d = Maternal 9,600 IU vitamin D3 vs. 2,000 IU 25OHD3, P < 0.05
z = Nursery 2,000 IU vitamin D3 vs. 2,000 IU 25OHD3, P < 0.05
SEM = 1.5
Maternal × day interaction, P < 0.001
Nursery × day interaction, P < 0.001
Maternal
Nursery
Vitamin D3
25OHD3
a,d z b,c,z

22. Conclusions
• Maternal and nursery vitamin D regimens influence serum
25OHD3 of the growing pig until common diets were fed.
• Pigs from sows fed 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 had increased
ADG and ADFI in the nursery and increased ADG and G:F in
finishing compared to pigs from sows fed 800 or 9,600 IU of
vitamin D3.
• The increase in lactation feed intake may have resulted in
increased milk production and numerically increased
weaning weights.
• Pigs from sows fed 9,600 IU of vitamin D3 had lighter final
BW and HCW compared to pigs from sows fed 25OHD3.

23. Overall Conclusions
• The current work disagrees with previous studies which has
observed improvements in performance criteria (maternal
performance, muscle fiber numbers) associated with feeding
25OHD3 at the same IU equivalency of vitamin D3.
• The current study shows that for milk transfer of vitamin D,
level of maternal supplementation rather than form of the
vitamin is more important.
• The current results suggest that maternal supplementation of
vitamin D at 2,000 IU regardless of source provided the most
benefit from a growth and performance standpoint; however,
the serum 25OHD3 is more sensitive and will respond more
from supplementation from 25OHD3.

24. Thank you!
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