Milk chemical composition of sows with hepatopathy

Abstract

Hepatopathy in sows is a group of diseases characterized by the development of dystrophic (toxic hepatosis) and inflammatory (toxic hepatitis) changes in the liver. At the terminal stages of these processes, cirrhosis occurs. Blood samples were taken from sows after farrowing (the first day of lactation); the values of a number of biochemical markers were determined. These markers characterize hepatodepressive, cytolytic and inflammatory-mesenchymal serum syndromes of liver diseases. Based on the study of blood indices and clinical examination of animals, three groups of sows were formed. The first group included apparently healthy sows without disturbances in blood biochemical composition; the second group included apparently healthy sows with changes in blood biochemical composition characteristic of hepatopathy; the third group included clinically insane sows with changes in blood biochemical composition characteristic of hepatopathy. The clinical signs detected in animals were not typical for liver pathologies. Hepatopathy in nursing sows was identified based on the study of blood biochemical composition and was characterized by the development of hepatodepressive (decreased cholinesterase activity and decreased albumin-globulin ratio (AGR), hypocholesterolemia), cytolytic (increased transaminase activity, hyperbilirubinemia), inflammatory-mesenchymal (hyperproteinemia, decreased AGS) syndromes and energy deficiency (hyperlactatemia, hyperpyruvatemia, increased lactate-pyruvate ratio. Hepatopathy in sows is accompanied by decreased nutritional value of colostrum and milk (concentrations of protein, fat, and lactose) and the immunological usefulness of colostrum (decrease of the relative content of immune globulins). The indices of nutritional and immunological value of the secretions of the mammary glands of sows have positive and negative significant and high correlations with the levels of biochemical markers of hepatopathy which indicates their interdependence.