During the stages of sow reproduction, their physiological conditions suffer from heavy burden. These phenomena can lead to the elevation of their metabolism level, the increase of active-oxygen free radicals and ultimately trigger oxidative stress. In the present study, we detected oxidative damage and antioxidant status in blood samples collected from multiparous sows (n=24) during their gestation and lactation, including days 100 of gestation (G100); farrowing day (F); days 3, 13, and 23 of lactation (L3, L13, and L23); day 3 post-weaning (W3); and the day of post-partum estrus (E). Oxidative damage and antioxidant status were determined using the reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) test and the plasma antioxidant test (PAT), respectively. These results indicate that oxidative damage significantly increased (P<0.05) from G100 to E and reached a peak at L13. The antioxidant defense levels were highest at L23 and were significantly higher than those at other stages (P<0.05), and antioxidant defense levels at G100 were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those at farrowing, lactation, weaning, and post-partum estrus. Moreover, the overall oxidative stress also increased from G100 to E, and reached a peak at L3, which was significantly higher than any other stages except L13 (P<0.05). Besides, a significant correlation was observed between litter size and oxidative stress level. These results indicate that oxidative stress (OS) occurs during reproduction in the sow, and increases significantly at lactation stages, suggesting that some preventive measure should be taken during the reproductive stages.

To Cite This Article: Liu K, Wu W, Li B, Wei W, Liu Z and Liu HL, 2018. Changes in oxidative stress status in sows from days 100 of gestation to post-partum estrus. Pak Vet J, 38(2): 165-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2018.045