Endocrine Abstracts

Perinatal nutrition has marked effects on both the health and development of the newborn animal, especially in the case of the intra-uterine growth restricted (IUGR) foetus. IGF-1 and leptin play important roles in the regulation of growth and energy metabolism. The study aimed to examine whether prenatal nutrition influences the growth performance and endocrine profile of IUGR pigs. From day 85 of gestation, pregnant sows were allocated to the standard diet (S: n=4) or the S diet plus 30% extra energy derived from either excess pellets (E: n=5) or palm oil (PO: n=5). All sows were fed the standard lactation diet. From the normal distribution curve of birth weights, an IUGR (<10th percentile) and normal (N: 10th-90th percentile) piglet was selected from each litter. Body weight and fat were determined at 3, 21, 60, and 150 days of life, and a blood sample was taken. Plasma leptin and IGF-1 were analysed using RIA and ELISA, respectively. A General Linear Model was used to assess differences between the groups. IUGR pigs were smaller (P<0.05) at birth (IUGR 1.45±0.11; N 1.88±0.09 kg: mean±SEM) and remained so at 150 days of life. Body fat did not differ between IUGR and N pigs on any treatment throughout the study period. Growth rate from birth to slaughter was lower (P<0.01) in IUGR pigs on the E treatment only (IUGR 0.57±0.01: N 0.64±0.01kg/d). Plasma leptin and IGF-1 concentrations were similar between IUGR and N pigs, except at 60 days when leptin and IGF-1 were higher (P<0.05) in IUGR animals in the PO and S groups, respectively (Leptin, IUGR 5.2±0.4; N 3.4±0.4 ng/ml: IGF-1, IUGR: 106.7±3.0; N 63.2±3.5 g/ml). In conclusion, prenatal nutrition can modulate the growth performance and endocrine profile of IUGR pig, which may in part be due to 'metabolic programming' occurring during foetal life.