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Effects of birth weight and maternal dietary fat source on the fatty acid profile of piglet tissue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 July 2014

S. Tanghe ,
S. Millet ,
J. Missotten ,
B. Vlaeminck  and
S. De Smet
S. Tanghe
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Production, Ghent University, Proefhoevestraat 10, 9090 Melle, Belgium
S. Millet
Affiliation:
Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Animal Sciences Unit, Scheldeweg 68, 9090 Melle, Belgium
J. Missotten
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Production, Ghent University, Proefhoevestraat 10, 9090 Melle, Belgium
B. Vlaeminck
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Production, Ghent University, Proefhoevestraat 10, 9090 Melle, Belgium
S. De Smet*
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Department of Animal Production, Ghent University, Proefhoevestraat 10, 9090 Melle, Belgium
*
†E-mail: stefaan.desmet@ugent.be
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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects and possible interactions of birth weight and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation of the maternal diet on the fatty acid status of different tissues of newborn piglets. These effects are of interest as both parameters have been associated with pre-weaning mortality. Sows were fed a palm oil diet or a diet containing 1% linseed, echium or fish oil from day 73 of gestation. As fish oil becomes a scarce resource, linseed and echium oil were supplemented as sustainable alternatives, adding precursor fatty acids for DHA to the diet. At birth, the lightest and heaviest male piglet per litter were killed and samples from liver, brain and muscle were taken for fatty acid analysis. Piglets that died pre-weaning had lower birth weights than piglets surviving lactation (1.27±0.04 v. 1.55±0.02 kg; P<0.001), but no effect of diet on mortality was found. Lower DHA concentrations were observed in the brain of the lighter piglets compared with their heavier littermates (9.46±0.05 v. 9.63±0.04 g DHA/100 g fatty acids; P=0.008), suggesting that the higher incidence of pre-weaning mortality in low birth weight piglets may be related to their lower brain DHA status. Adding n-3 PUFA to the sow diet could not significantly reduce this difference in DHA status, although numerically the difference in the brain DHA concentration between the piglet weight groups was smaller when fish oil was included in the sow diet. Independent of birth weight, echium or linseed oil in the sow diet increased the DHA concentration of the piglet tissues to the same extent, but the concentrations were not as high as when fish oil was fed.

Keywords

birth weightbrainDHApigpolyunsaturated fatty acids
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 8 , Issue 11 , November 2014 , pp. 1857 - 1866
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2014 

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