Small metabolites vary in sow milk across the course of lactation, while moringa supplementation and cooling sows exposed to heat stress conditions have limited effects.

This study examined whether adding moringa leaf powder to pig feed would change the nutritional composition of mother pig milk during nursing. Researchers followed 48 sows from late pregnancy through three weeks of nursing, dividing them into groups that received either regular feed or feed with moringa powder, with some also getting cooling pads during heat stress. They collected milk samples at three time points: immediately after birth (colostrum), day 3 (transitional milk), and day 14 (mature milk), then analyzed the small molecules (metabolites) in each sample. The results showed that milk composition changed dramatically as nursing progressed, which is normal and reflects the changing nutritional needs of piglets. However, adding moringa to the mother's diet had only limited effects on milk composition. The study found that factors like whether it was the sow's first litter and environmental cooling had more impact on milk metabolites than moringa supplementation. While moringa didn't show strong effects in this particular study, the research provides valuable information about how milk composition naturally changes during nursing and how different interventions might influence nutritional content under stress conditions.