The effect of ginger extracts on the antioxidant capacity and IgG concentrations in the colostrum and plasma of neo-born piglets and sows

This study was performed to examine the effects of dietary supplementation of sows with ginger extracts (GE) on colostrum and the plasma of both sows and piglets. A total of 30 pregnant sows were randomly assigned to three groups, each of which was given a corn-soybean meal diet with 0%, 0.25%, or 0.5% GE from late gestation through lactation. Total levels of antioxidant and phenolic compounds were significantly increased in the plasma of the sows and piglets by GE supplementation. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations were significantly increased in both the plasma of sows and piglets and in colostrum by 0.5% GE supplementation. There were no differences in plasma levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and urea nitrogen among the test groups of both sows and piglets. Dietary GE significantly increased the levels of total protein and most of amino acids in the sow colostrum. At 0 d postpartum, the body weights of piglets from GE-fed sows were higher than those of piglets from control diet-fed sows. These results suggest that GE is an effective dietary source that could enhance the immune function of piglets by improving the antioxidant capacity and the level of immunoglobulin in the sow colostrum.