Åkerfeldt, Magdalena
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Research article2025Peer reviewedOpen access
Metabolism of isoflavones in red clover silage fed to pregnant sows
Akerfeldt, Magdalena Presto; Vu, Emy; Eriksson, Jan; Gumucio, Astrid; Lundh, Torbjorn
Abstract
Forage crop silage fed to feed-restricted pregnant sows can enhance their welfare. Red clover (Trifolium pratense) with phytoestrogens (PE) can potentially cause reproduction disorders. Little is known about the metabolism of PE in sows and their capacity to produce equol. This study examined faecal and urinary excretion of PE and equol in sows-fed red clover silage. During a four-week period, eight pregnant sows received red clover silage (RC) rich in PE (10.9 g/kg DM), and eight sows without red clover silage (C). Contents of PE were determined with microwave-assisted and solid-phase extraction and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. RC sows efficiently produced equol (on average 190.2 mg/kg DM in faeces and 171.5 mu g/mg creatinine in urine). Excreted PE and equol conjugated and urinary equol reached a stable value over time (w1 = 119.1; w2 = 153.3; w3 = 208.8; w4 = 204.8 mu g/mg creatinine), indicating an effective adaptation and elimination of equol and reduced risk for hormonal disturbances.
Keywords
Biochanin A; daidzein; equol; formononetin; genistein; legume; phytoestrogen; sow
Published in
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science
2025
Publisher: TAYLOR AND FRANCIS LTD
SLU Authors
Vu, Emy
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Eriksson, Jan
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Gumucio, Astrid
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Lundh, Torbjörn
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09064702.2025.2472641
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/141216