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Updated: May 29, 2026

Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 29, 2013
Dietary long-chain n-3 PUFA, gut microbiota and fat mass in early postnatal piglet development--exploring a potential
A D Andersen1, L Mølbak, T Thymann
1Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 30, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
Abstract:
Dietary n-3PUFA and gut bacteria, particularly Bacteroidetes, have been suggested to be related to adiposity. We investigated if n-3PUFA affected fat storage and cecal bacteria in piglets. Twenty-four 4-day-old piglets were allocated to formula rich in n-3PUFA (∼3E%) from fish oil (FO) or n-6PUFA from sunflower oil (SO) for 14 days. We assessed body weight, fat accumulation by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and microbial molecular fingerprints. Dietary PUFA-composition was reflected in higher erythrocyte n-3PUFA in the FO- than the SO-group (P<0.001). Principal component analysis revealed group differences in the overall microbiotic composition, which involved a larger Bacteroides community in the SO-group (P=0.02). There was no significant difference in body fat percentage and no relationship between fat accumulation and gut Bacteroides. Hence, this study does not support an impact of n-3PUFA or microbiota on fat accumulation during the postnatal maturation period. The impact of dietary PUFA on the gut Bacteroides warrants further investigation.
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