The goals of the present study were 1) to establish detailed fatty acid profiles in the plasma of pregnant sows before and after dietary supplementation with flax and in carcasses and brains of neonatal piglets as well as in sow milk in early and late lactation, and 2) to demonstrate the differential effects of feeding flax as seed, meal, or oil on these fatty acid profiles. It was found that flax is an important agricultural product and could be used to alter the fatty acid profiles of sows and their piglets. Feeding flax as seed or oil to sows during the last third of gestation increases PUFA and n-3 fatty acids and decreases the n-6/n-3 ratio in milk and blood of sows and in carcasses of newborn piglets. Increased n-3 fatty acids and decreased n-6/n-3 ratio were also present in the brain of piglets from sows fed FS or FSO. Such a change in fatty acid profile was not present when flax was provided as meal, indicating that it is linked to the oil component of the diet.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/