Odd-Chain Fatty Acid-Enriched Fats Improve Growth and Intestinal Morphology and Function in Milk Replacer-Fed Piglets

The intestinal development and nutritional needs of piglets after birth are similar to those of human infants.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different forms of odd-chain fatty acids (OCFAs) on the growth and intestinal morphology and function of milk replacer-fed piglets, as a model for human infants.

Forty 7-d-old piglets from 8 sows were randomly assigned into 5 groups (n = 8, each from a different litter) and fed sow milk or milk replacers supplemented with different kinds of fats (control fats, docosahexaenoic acid algal oil-, OCFA algal oil-, and OCFA-enriched fats) for 21 d. One-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the milk replacer-fed piglet groups, and unpaired t test was used to compare sow milk- and milk replacer-fed piglets.

Milk replacers supplemented with OCFA-enriched fats increased the average daily gain (ADG), ratio of villus height to crypt depth, and protein expression of Ki67, phosphorylated (p)-mTOR, p-S6K1, Occludin, Claudin, and ZO-1 in the selected intestines of piglets and decreased the protein expression of p-ULK1, Parkin, and PINK1 to levels similar to those of the sow milk-fed group (P < 0.05).

Overall, milk replacers supplemented with OCFA-enriched fats improved the ADG and the intestinal morphology and function of piglets to levels comparable to those of the sow milk-fed piglets.