Effects of Fat Supplementation during Gestation on Reproductive Performance, Milk Composition of Sows and Intestinal Development of Their Offspring

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Nutrition plays a major role in enhancing reproductive efficiency in pigs. Sows mobilize sufficient energy from their body tissue stores for fetal nutritional demands. Dietary fats are used in late gestation and/or lactation diets as sources of energy and essential fatty acids. Our results suggested that fat supplementation during gestation improved colostrum composition and plasma concentration of prolactin at farrowing, associated with altered intestinal morphology and innate immunity in newborn offspring. ABSTRACT: Various fats are used in swine diets as sources of energy and essential fatty acids. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of fat supplementation during gestation on reproductive performance, milk composition of sows and intestinal development of their offspring. Fifty sows were randomly allocated into two groups receiving the control (CON) and high-fat diets (HF diet) during gestation. After farrowing, all sows received the same lactation diet and were fed ad libitum until weaning at day 20 of lactation. The results showed that being fed the HF diet did not markedly improve the performance of sows and their offspring. However, the HF diet increased (p < 0.05) the colostrum contents of protein and no-fat solids, and the plasma concentration of prolactin at farrowing. Moreover, piglets born of sows fed the HF diet had higher (p < 0.05) jejunal villous height, as well as deeper (p < 0.05) jejunal and colonic crypt depths compared with piglets born of sows fed the CON diet. In addition, piglets born of sows fed the HF diet had markedly increased (p < 0.05) mRNA abundances of innate immunity-related genes on toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), toll-like receptor 9 (TLR-9) and myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) in ileum compared with piglets born of sows fed the CON diet. These findings indicated that dietary fat supplementation during gestation did not markedly improve the performance of sows and their offspring, but improved colostrum quality and concentration of prolactin on the day of farrowing, associated with modifications of intestinal morphology and innate immunity of their offspring.