Glycogen Reserves in the Fetal and Newborn Pig

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Abstract
The pattern of glycogen deposition in various tissues of the fetal pig was determined throughout gestation. Liver and carcass glycogen levels were low in early gestation, rising rapidly in the last 4 weeks of gestation. The carcass contributed about 90% of the total glycogen throughout gestation. The importance of the contribution of the heart and lung reserves to the total decreased with age, while that of the liver increased. The levels of total reducing sugars, the most of which was fructose, in the fetal venous and arterial blood decreased from day 60 to 111 of gestation. Plasma lactic acid and plasma urea nitrogen remainted relatively constant throughout gestation, and there was no consistent difference between the venous and arterial blood. Increasing sow feed intake in late gestation or including sucrose or tallow in the sows diet did not significantly increase the glycogen content of the liver or muscle of the newborn pig. The dietary treatments of the sow did not significantly influence any of the blood parameters measured in the pig at birth, 24 or 48 hours. Copyright © 1978. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1978 by American Society of Animal Science.