Effect of supplementation of the maternal diet with fish oil or linseed oil on fatty-acid composition and expression of δ5- and δ6-desaturase in tissues of female piglets

Missotten, J.; De Smet, S.; Raes, K.; Doran, Olena

Abstract

The present study investigated whether enrichment of the pig maternal diet with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) affects the fatty-acid composition of female piglets via enhancing of expression of the lipogenic enzymes 5-desaturase (5d) and 6-desaturase (6d). The sows (50% Landrace 50% Large White) were fed a control diet or one of the experimental diets starting at day 45 in gestation. The experimental diets were supplemented either with linseed oil or fish oil, whereas the control diet contained palm oil. Expression of 5d and 6d, and fatty-acid composition was determined by Western blotting and gas-liquid chromatography, respectively, in muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver. The highest 5d protein expression was observed in the piglets muscle, followed by subcutaneous adipose tissue, with the lowest level in the liver. Expression of 6d in the piglets tissues followed an opposite pattern, and was highest in the liver, followed by subcutaneous adipose tissue, with the lowest level in muscle. Supplementation of the maternal diet with fish oil or linseed oil increased the level of n-3 PUFA of the piglets in a tissue-specific manner. The response of 6d and 5d protein expression in female piglets, with average birth weight 2.4 kg, to the dietary manipulation was also tissue-specific. It is suggested that the increase in n-3 PUFA content in the progeny was related, at least partially, to the activation of 6d and 5d expression. © 2009 Copyright The Animal Consortium 2009.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2009
• Journal: Animal
• Print ISSN: 1751-7311
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-732X
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1196-1204
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731109004455
• Keywords: diet, oil, fatty acid composition, lipogenic enzyme expression
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1004489
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731109004455