Chitooligosaccharide supplementation improves the reproductive performance and milk composition of sows

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of chitooligosaccharides (COSs) on the reproductive performance of sows. Thirty-eight pregnant sows were investigated in this study. These sows were fed with corn-soybean-based diets supplemented with COS (COS group) or without COS (control group) during the estrous stage. An isotopic-MS relative quantification method was used to analyze the porcine milk oligosaccharide (PMO) diversity between the two groups. COS supplementation increased the total number of piglets born by 18.5% (P<0.05), the number of piglets born alive by 19.2% (P<0.05), and the live born litter weight by 31.3% (P<0.01). In the milk of lactating sows, 17 distinct PMOs were identified in the two groups. Among them, a trisaccharide (Hex3) and a tetrasaccharide (Hex2GlcNAcNeuAc) were 60% and 150% higher in the COS group than in the control group. These findings indicate that litter size and litter birth weight were increased in sows through COS intervention; meanwhile, COS supplementation can modify the oligosaccharides in porcine milk.