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NUTRITION
Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition –
What you need to know
By: Tracy Meyer, Nutritionist, Advit
This will be the beginning of a series
of articles highlighting the importance of vitamins and minerals in
pig nutrition. I will not be making
recommendations but will rather be
giving a brief overview of the function of each vitamin and mineral in
the animal and why it is important to
include a premix in your feed. Most
vitamin and mineral premix packs
make up approximately 0.4% of the
total ration. This is a small percentage but without the premix, growth
and production can be affected.
In this article the importance of Vitamin
A, D, E and K will be noted. This group
of vitamins are commonly referred to as
the fat-soluble vitamins.
Vitamin A:
Vitamin A is essential for reproduction,
growth and maintenance of epithelia,
vision and mucus secretions. Combs
(1999) also showed the importance of
vitamin A in embryonic development,
bone development, gene transcription,
immunity and hematopoiesis (formation of
blood cellular components). Pigs are able
to store vitamin A in the liver where it is
made available when there is a low intake.
The requirement for vitamin A depends
on what one is evaluating eg, weight gain
requirement may be different to liver storage. In a recent study by Lindemann et al.
(2008) it was determined that the requirement for Vitamin A in sows for maximal
performance may vary with age, and this
requirement may not be completely met
with supplementation in the diet.
Vitamin A deficiency leads to blindness, posterior paralysis, reduced weight
gain, incoordination, decreased plasma
levels, increased cerebrospinal fluid pressure and reduced liver storage. Sows
may fail to show oestrus, have poor
conception rates, early embryonic death,
reabsorb fetusus or produce weak, dead
or deformed pigs.
Vitamin A toxicity comprises of scaly
skin, blood in urine/faeces, periodic
tremors, rough hair coat, sensitive to
touch, bleeding from cracks in skin
above hooves and inability to stand up.
Porcus Oktober/November 2014
Interactions:
• Nitrate and nitrite may affect Vitamin A
requirement.
• Aflatoxins reduce serum retinol but
increase liver Vitamin A
Baker (1995) found that moisture in
premix and feed ingredients has a negative effect on the stability of Vitamin A.
The water causes the Vitamin A beadlets to soften and they are then more
sensitive to oxygen. In order to ensure
maximum retention of Vitamin A in the
premix the pH should be above 5 and as
moisture-free as possible.
Vitamin D:
There are two major forms of Vitamin D
– Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and Vitamin
D3 (cholecalciferol). These forms are
converted by the kidneys and liver into
a form that the body is able to utilise.
The hormonal metabolites of Vitamin
D as well as Vitamin D itself act on the
mucosal cells of the small intestine and
form calcium-binding proteins. These
proteins are involved in the absorption of
calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.
Parathyroid hormone, calcitonin and the
Vitamin D metabolites work together
to maintain calcium and phosphorus
homeostasis. Vitamin D also plays a role
in immunity, reproduction and endocrine
and neurological function.
Vitamin D deficiency leads to insufficient bone calcification – rickets in young
growing pigs and osteomalacia (decreased bone mineral content) in mature
pigs. It may take four to six months for
deficiency signs to show. In severe cases
the pigs may show signs of calcium and
magnesium deficiency (to be convered in
later articles).
Vitamin D toxicity comprises of
reduced feed intake and growth rate,
reduced weight of liver, radius and ulna,
calcification in aorta, kidney, lung and
heart. Toxicity signs vary with dose of Vitamin D and age of pig. Excessive levels
in breeder diets may lead to milk fever
and stillborn piglets.
Vitamin E:
The primary function of Vitamin E is as
an antioxidant at the cell membrane level
as well as having a structural roll in cell
membranes. Offspring rely on colostrum
and milk to meet their daily Vitamin E requirements as transfer from sow to fetus
is minimal. In turn the concentration of
Vitamin E in the colostrum and milk is
dependent on the Vitamin E content of
the sow diet.
Vitamin E deficiency leads to mulberry
heart disease, gastric ulcers, liver necrosis, anemia, fat tissue discolouration,
sudden death, gastric parakeratosis and
skeletal and cardiac muscle degeneration. In the sow there may be increased
incidence of mastitis, metritis and agalactia as well as reduced litter size and
increased pre-weaning mortality. Vitamin
Continued on p 8
7
NUTRITION
Vitamin and Mineral nutrition from p 7
E deficient piglets have a low tolerance
to iron-dextran injected intramuscularly.
In order to prevent this reaction selenium/Vitamin E should be injected at least
24 hours prior to the iron treatment.
Vitamin E toxicity: To date Vitamin
E toxicity has not been demonstrated
in pigs (NRC, 2012). Excess Vitamin
E reduces the intestinal absorption of
Vitamin A.
Interactions:
• Vitamin E and Vitamin C and Vitamin E
and selenium have synergistic relationships.
• Excess Vitamin A increases Vitamin E
requirement.
• Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Cd in excess
increase Vitamin E oxidation (250ppm
Cu or 1000ppm Fe increase vitamin
E destruction to almost zero in three
weeks in a starter diet)
• Aflatoxins reduce serum Vitamin E
levels
• Stress, cold/damp environment,
infection and physical exertion increase
Vitamin E requirement
Vitamin K:
Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting
as it is involved in the synthesis of prothrombin, factor VII, factor IX and factor
X. These factors are synthesised in the
liver where they are inactive – Vitamin
K converts them to biologically active
compounds.
Vitamin K deficiency leads to pro-
longed bleeding resulting in haemorrhages and death. The level of Vitamin K
stored in the liver is depleted very rapidly
even during short periods of Vitamin K
deficient diet consumption. Mycotoxins
may also have a negative effect on Vitamin K level in the body (NRC, 2012).
Vitamin K toxicity: trials have shown a
tolerance for high Vitamin K levels with
no negative effect (NRC, 2012).
The Vitamin K level in the premix can be
negatively affected by moisture, choline
chloride, trace elements and alkaline
conditions. Coating of the Vitamin K
has shown to improve the stability in the
premix.
In the next issue I will highlight the
importance of the B-vitamins as well as
Vitamin C.
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Porcus Oktober/November 2014