Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) whenadded to sows’ diet on their reproductive performance and growth performance and on thehematology parameters of the sows and their piglets. Sixteen multiparous sows (Yorkshire× Landrace) were allotted into two treatment groups and fed basal diets (CON, piglets wereinjected with iron dextran) or the basal diet containing 0.1% ALA (ALA, piglets were notinjected with iron dextran) from day 100 of gestation to day 28 of lactation. Supplementationof ALA had no effect on the body weight (BW), backfat thickness (BFT), or litter sizes of sowsin the present experiment. However, the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the sows wassignificantly improved (p < 0.05) in the ALA group. Supplementation of ALA had no effecton the growth performance or survival of suckling piglets but had a significant effect onthe birth weight (p < 0.05). With regard to the blood profiles, serum concentrations of ironwere unaffected in sows and piglets as compared to the control group. Red blood cell (RBC)counts were significantly improved (p < 0.05) in sows during late gestation to the time beforefarrowing period and in piglets at weaning. In summary, these results suggest that dietarysupplementation of ALA can have positive effects by improving growth performance andblood RBC in sows and suckling piglets.