A short-term supranutritional vitamin E supplementation alleviated respiratory alkalosis but did not reduce oxidative stress in heat stressed pigs.

OBJECTIVE: Heat stress (HS) triggers oxidative stress and respiratory alkalosis in pigs. The objective of this experiment was to study whether a short-term supranutritional amount of dietary vitamin E (VE) can mitigate oxidative stress and respiratory alkalosis in heat-stressed pigs.

METHODS: A total of 24 pigs were given either a control diet (17 IU/kg VE) or a high VE (200 IU/kg VE; HiVE) diet for 14 d, then exposed to thermoneutral (TN; 20°C, 45% humidity) or HS (35°C, 35% to 45% humidity, 8 h daily) conditions for 7 d. Respiration rate and rectal temperature were measured three times daily during the thermal exposure. Blood gas variables and oxidative stress markers were studied in blood samples collected on d 7.

RESULTS: Although HiVE diet did not affect the elevated rectal temperature or respiration rate observed during HS, it alleviated (all p<0.05 for diet×temperature) the loss of blood CO2 partial pressure and bicarbonate, as well as the increase in blood pH in the heat-stressed pigs. The HS reduced (p = 0.003) plasma biological antioxidant potential (BAP) and tended to increase (p = 0.067) advanced oxidized protein products (AOPP) in the heat-stressed pigs, suggesting HS triggers oxidative stress. The HiVE diet did not affect plasma BAP or AOPP. Only under TN conditions the HiVE diet reduced the plasma reactive oxygen metabolites (p<0.05 for diet× temperature).

CONCLUSION: A short-term supplementation with 200 IU/kg VE partially alleviated respiratory alkalosis but did not reduce oxidative stress in heat-stressed pigs.