Fig. 1: Trial design and the effects of probiotics on constipation, reproductive and piglet growth performance, and serum cytokine profile.
From: Probiotics alleviate constipation and inflammation in late gestating and lactating sows
a Intervention measures and sample collection from late gestation (100 days of gestation, G100d) to lactation (23 days of lactation, L23d). G113d represents 113 days of gestation, while L6d, L13d, and L19d represent 6, 13, and 19 days of lactation, respectively. b Comparison of sow fecal scores between probiotic (Pro) and control (Con) groups from late gestation to lactation. The sow fecal score is inversely related to the severity of constipation. Comparison of (c) mummy rate, (d) daily gain, (e) weaning weight, and (f) birth weight of piglets between two groups. g Changes in serum cytokine levels at different time points. Data were presented as means ± SEM. Differences in serum concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-12p40 (IL-12p40), tumoral necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon-α (IFN-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-4 (IL-4) between groups were evaluated using Wilcoxon tests. The center line of the box plot represents the median, the bounds of box represent IQR, and whiskers represent data other than the upper and lower quartiles.
