Table 1.
Nutrient content of soybean and corn feed with added vitamin and mineral premixes.
Table 2.
Body weight and body composition in the subgroup of sun-exposed and control pigs selected for tissue analysis.
Fig 1.
Summer and fall average UVB exposure.
Average UVB radiation during noontime sun exposure for 14 days in the summer and fall at close to the summer solstice and fall equinox, respectively. Data were recorded every second for the one hour exposure period around solar noon (± 30 minutes). Each point represents the mean of the 3600 points. Error, expressed as 95% confidence intervals about the mean are not visible (range = 6.2 X 10−5 to 0.033731). Days with low UVB radiation were cloudy during the sun exposure period.
Fig 2.
Effects of sun exposure on vitamin D status.
Serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations before (Pre) and after (Post) sun exposure for one hour daily at solar noon for 2-weeks (SUN) or standard confinement (Control) in the summer and fall. Summer exposure occurred in the spring-summer group and fall exposure occurred in the summer-fall group in finisher pigs 2-weeks prior to slaughter.
Fig 3.
Effects of sun exposure on vitamin D concentrations in loin tissue.
Total vitamin D content includes both vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3. The black bar represents the value presented in the USDA national nutrient database for the vitamin D content of “raw pork, center loin.” Center loin samples were collected on the day of slaughter. Error bars represent the standard error. (1 ug vitamin D3 = 40 IU).