Maternal Supplementation of Betaine Improves Performance of Neonatal Pigs, but Does Not Influence Nutrient Utilization during Later Phases of Life

Mishra, A., Verma, A.K., Munde, V.K., Ojha, B.K. and Bisht, P. 2025. Maternal supplementation of betaine improves performance of neonatal pigs, but does not influence nutrient utilization during later phases of life. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 25: 331–344. This study investigated the effects of maternal diet supplementation of betaine on the performance of neonatal pigs, with a focus on the offspring’s nutrient utilization with or without dietary betaine supplementation during the grower and finisher phases. A total of twelve crossbred (Landrace x Desi) gestating sows were randomly assigned to two groups (n=6). Sows in the control group (D0) were fed a standard diet to meet their nutrient requirements, while sows in the treatment group (D1) were fed the same basal diet supplemented with 3g of betaine per kg of dry matter (DM) throughout gestation. After weaning, twelve piglets from each sow group were randomly distributed into two experimental groups (n=6/group) based on a 2×2 factorial design. Piglets from groups D0O0 (born to sows not receiving betaine) and D1O0 (born to sows receiving betaine) were not supplemented with betaine, while piglets in groups D0O1 (born to sows not receiving betaine) and D1O1 (born to sows receiving betaine) received supplementary betaine. Results indicated that litter size and birth weight were higher (P=0.07) in the betaine-supplemented groups, while both litter size and weaning weight were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the betaine-supplemented maternal diet groups. Nutrient utilization (P<0.05) and body weight at finishing (P<0.001) were significantly higher in piglets from groups D0O1 and D1O1 compared to D0O0 and D1O0. Regardless of maternal supplementation, betaine supplementation in the piglet diet improved both nutrient utilization and finishing weight. It was concluded that while maternal betaine supplementation improved neonatal pig performance, it did not affect the nutrient utilization at finishing phase. Supplementing betaine at 3g/kg DM throughout the entire rearing period would be beneficial for optimizing nutrient utilization and growth performance in crossbred pigs.