Effect of the Supplementation Using an Herbal Mixture as a Choline Source during Early Gestation in Rambouillet Ewes

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Early gestation is a critical period where the establishment of correct placentation is one of the key steps to ensuring a successful pregnancy outcome. Choline is an essential nutrient for cell membranes’ structural integrity, signaling functions, and central fetus nervous system development. Different studies have reported that choline plays a critical role during late gestation by increasing colostrum and milk quality and improving newborn mammal development. However, there is a lack of studies that describe the role of choline when the placenta requires to potentialize its nutrients’ supply to the embryo and to potentialize the fetal development that increases the ability of growth during early life. The current article aims to describe the positive effects of offspring development from ewes supplemented during early gestation using an herbal mixture as a choline source. ABSTRACT: Previous research indicates that adequate choline nutrition during late gestation improves fetal development. However, there is a lack of studies describing choline’s role during early gestation. Thus, the current study hypothesizes that an herbal mixture as a source of choline (Biocholine) positively affects offspring development from ewes supplemented during early gestation. Therefore, the objectives were to evaluate the impact of biocholine on the programming of the offspring early in life through the evaluation of dams and newborn performance. Twenty-eight four-year-old Rambouillet ewes were assigned randomly to two treatments: non-supplementation and 4 gd(−1) of biocholine during the early gestation. Compared with the dams without supplementation, the ewes supplemented using biocholine showed no increase in parameters such as birth and weaning weight (p > 0.05). Additionally, the milk yield and quality of colostrum and milk did not present statistical differences (p > 0.05). However, the placental membrane development was reduced in the ewes that received supplementation with biocholine; interestingly, those dams increased the weight of the newborns during the lambing period (p < 0.05). Finally, the current study proposes necessary elucidation of how placental size is programmed and if less placental development has potential benefits in the fetus’s development.