Diet, age and intestinal bile acids in pigs

Total bile acid concentrations in gallbladder bile and duodenal juice of neonatal piglets receiving sow milk were compared to values from 10-wk-old pigs receiving either high-fat low-carbohydrate (HF/LC) or low-fat high-carbohydrate (LF/HC) diets. Ten-week-old pigs on either diet had higher bile acid concentrations in gallbladder bile than newborn pigs (108.6 +/- 2.5 and 109.3 +/- 1.4 vs. 50.0 +/- 10.0 mM, mean +/- SE for HF/LC, LF/HC, and newborn, respectively, p < 0.007; n = 8-10). Ten-week-old pigs in the LF/HC group had higher bile acid concentrations in duodenal juice than either the HF/LC or newborn animals (31.7 +/- 4.2 vs. 16.8 +/- 2.5 and 14.7 +/- 1.8 mM, respectively, p < 0.0001). These data demonstrate that like the human neonate, the newborn pig has decreased bile acid concentrations available for digestion compared with the adult and resembles the adult pig adapted to a high-fat diet.