{
  "abstract": "Primiparous sows frequently fail to meet lactation nutrient demands, but direct comparisons of plant-derived feed additives are scarce. Eighty primiparous Yorkshire sows were assigned to four treatments from 14-day pre-farrowing to 21-day weaning: control (CON), milk thistle extract (MTE, 1% in 100 g/d), fenugreek seed extract (FSE, 1% in 100 g/d), and mannan oligosaccharide (MOS, 1.4% prepartum and 1.8% postpartum in 100 g/d). Production traits were recorded; mechanistic assays were confined to CON and MTE, the group that performed best in the production screen, and are reported as an exploratory, hypothesis-generating comparison. Lactation feed intake differed among groups (p = 0.047): MTE sows ate 4.16 kg/d compared to 3.51 kg/d for CON, while FSE (3.73) and MOS (3.47) were intermediate and similar to CON. Only MTE improved litter performance, raising weaning litter weight (+10.6%), piglet weight (+15.4%), and calculated milk yield (+13.1%) versus CON (p < 0.05); FSE and MOS showed no significant effects. MTE also increased prolactin (at farrowing and d-14) and catalase (at farrowing) but lowered d-14 cholesterol and HDL. In this two-step trial, MTE was the sole additive enhancing lactational performance, with endocrine and redox changes consistent with improved lactation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Engineering Research Center of Biomass Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences and Agri-Forestry, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China.",
    "Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuedai Wu",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-4727-0626"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Li Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zongze He"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Man Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiang Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jian He",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7906-4132"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mao Hu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3660bkcfftz5j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ani16193005",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13663562",
  "id": "3660bkcfftz5j",
  "issns": [
    "2076-2615"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882973",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1103|Animal Nutrition and Physiology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214225956",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13663562?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13663562",
  "pmid": "42882973",
  "published": "2026-09-24",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3660bkcfftz5j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42882973",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882973"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1103|Animal Nutrition and Physiology",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Milk Thistle Extract Enhances Lactational Performance in Primiparous Sows: A Comparative Screening of Plant-Derived Additives.",
  "title_text": "Milk Thistle Extract Enhances Lactational Performance in Primiparous Sows: A Comparative Screening of Plant-Derived Additives.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3660bkcfftz5j",
  "venue": "Animals : an open access journal from MDPI",
  "versions": []
}