Proceeding of Veterinary and Animal Science Days 2016, 8th- 10th June, Milan, Italy 

HAF © 2013 

Vol. III, No. 1s  ISSN: 2283-3927 

   

 

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Keywords 

Natural extracts, livestock 

performance, lactating sow 

 

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 

Federica Maghin 

federica.maghin@unimi.it 

 

JOURNAL HOME PAGE 

riviste.unimi.it/index.php/haf 

Dietary supplementation with algae and 

polyphenols in lactating sows: effects on 

sows and piglets’ performance. 

 

F. Maghina*, R. Rossia, S. Rattia, S. Chiapparinia, C. Corinoa 

 

 

aDepartment of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, Università degli 
Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy. 

 

Abstract 

The decrease of the use of antibiotic has promoted the scientific research towards the identification 

and study of natural substances able to improve animal performance and welfare (Hashemi et al., 

2011; Daglia, 2012; Maghin et al., 2014).  The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mixture 

of algae plus polyphenols (Algatan Mater®) on piglet and sow performance when used as dietary 

supplements to the sows. Eighty-four sows (42 per batch) were divided in two groups fed a control 

and Algatan Mater® supplemented diet. Feed intake, backfat thickness and blood samples at entry in 

farrowing room and at 21 days of lactation, and sows’ reproductive data until the next service were 

collected. Haematochemical parameters and antioxidant status of sows were analysed. Weight at 

birth, after cross-fostering and at 21 days of lactation were recorded to each litter. Backfat loss 

tended to be lower (P=0.07) in sows treated than control. The administration of algae plus 

polyphenols in sows improved (P<0.05) the piglets average daily gain and body weight at 21 days of 

lactation (P=0.014, Figure 1a.). Haematochemical parameters and antioxidant activity of blood was 

not affected by dietary treatment. The total number of piglets born at the next farrowing from 

treated group was higher (P=0.04) than controls (Figure 1b). The inclusion in lactating sows of 

Algatan Mater® improves lactating sows and piglets’ performance. Further research is needed to 

explore the mechanism of action of this natural mixture. 
 

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Proceeding of Veterinary and Animal Science Days 2016, 8th- 10th June, Milan, Italy 
 

HAF © 2013 

Vol. II, No. 2s  ISSN: 2283-3927 

 

 

Figure 1. (a) Average daily gain of the piglets at 21 days of lactation and (b) total number of piglets 

born from control and Algatan Mater® group. 

 

References 

Hashemi, S.R., Davoodi, H., 2011. Herbal plants and their derivatives as growth and health promoters in animal nutrition. Vet 

Res Commun 35, 169-180. 

Daglia, M., 2012. Polyphenols as antimicrobial agents. Curr Opin Biotechnol 23(2), 174-181. 

Maghin, F., Ratti, S., Corino, C., 2014. Biological functions and health promot-ing effects of brown seaweeds in swine nutrition. 

J Dairy Vet Anim Res 1(1), 00005. 

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