Aims: To evaluate the feasibility of determining energy expenditure and nutrient oxidation using respiration chambers for newborn intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) piglets while testing two different dietary interventions (DI).
Study Design: A 2x4 factorial design was used in this study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, between September and October 2016.
Methodology: Two different dietary interventions were used for IUGR piglets, Glucose (Glu) injected subcutaneously and a tube-fed dosage of porcine colostrum at two different levels of temperature; 22 ℃ (T22) and 36 ℃ (T36) compared with a placebo (P) treatment (water) of both IUGR and normal (Norm) piglets. Forty-eight piglets in total with 6 piglets per group were used. Piglets were weighed prior to insertion into respiratory chambers, where oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions were measured in 1h intervals over a 4h period. Respiratory quotients (RQ) and heat increment (HI) were calculated based on O2, CO2, and CH4 values.
Results: Due to too few animals per group no statistical analysis was performed. Not until between 1h to 2h after DI in T36 IUGR-Glu and -Col piglets displayed numerically greater HI/kg BW compared with IUGR-P (12.7% and 11.3% vs. 7.5%), whereas in T22 IUGR-Col and -P displayed similar increases which were numerically greater than IUGR-Glu piglets (13.0% and 12.8% vs. 9.1%). However, 2h and 3h after DI, respectively, only IUGR-Col and Norm-P in T22 and IUGR-Glu in T36 displayed HI/kg BW (0.56, 2.04 and 0.81%). In the period from the 1h to 2h after DI in T36 RQ changed from 0.34-0.57, 0.28-0.55, 0.32-0.58, 0.52-0.71 for IUGR-P, -Glu, -Col and Norm-P piglets, respectively.
Conclusion: Determining energy expenditure and nutrient oxidation in newborn IUGR piglets using respiration chambers is associated with great technical difficulties leading to results that should be carefully interpreted. However, positive HI was observed when piglets were given DI after 1h in all groups.