Effect of dietary supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid to sows during lactation and gestation on litter size, piglet birthweight and colostrum composition and plasma concentrations of fatty acids and cytokines

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation in sows on blood fatty acid and cytokine concentrations during late gestation, piglet birth weight and within-litter variation, and colostrum composition. Multiparous sows (n = 227) were fed either a standard diet or a diet supplemented with 50 mg DHA/kg from farrowing of the previous litter until farrowing of the subsequent litter. The numbers of liveborn and stillborn piglets and individual piglet birth weights were recorded. In a subsample of 46 sows, blood samples collected from the jugular vein six days before farrowing were analyzed for cytokine and glucose concentrations. Colostrum samples from 19 sows, collected 12 h after farrowing, were analyzed for nutrient composition, immunoglobulin concentrations, and fatty acid profile. Dietary DHA supplementation did not affect the numbers of liveborn or stillborn piglets, individual piglet birth weight, or within-litter variation in birth weight. Plasma cytokine concentrations also did not differ between treatments, whereas plasma glucose concentrations were higher in DHA-supplemented sows. Colostrum composition was largely unaffected by treatment, although DHA concentration tended to be greater in colostrum from supplemented sows. In conclusion, supplementing sow diets with 50 mg DHA/kg throughout an entire reproductive cycle had no measurable effects on piglet birth outcomes, colostrum composition, or plasma cytokine concentrations, but increased plasma glucose concentrations in late gestation.