Nutrition influence on sow reproductive performance and conceptuses development and survival: A review about L-arginine supplementation

During gestation, nutrition is the main environmental factor that influences the intrauterine environment and, consequently, development of embryos and fetuses. In this context, L-arginine supplementation of pregnant sows has been shown to be efficient to improve females' reproductive performance and conceptuses development. Among the products of arginine metabolism, nitric oxide and polyamines play important roles in placenta and pig conceptuses growth and development, through vascularization and blood flow regulation, cell proliferation, migration and differentiation, tissue formation, among other processes. In this review, we aimed to approach current knowledge about the nutrition influence on sow gestation, emphasizing how L-arginine supplementation may affect reproductive performance and conceptuses development and survival.