An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of altering
the omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid (FA) ratio in starter
diets on the inflammatory responses of piglets post-weaning.
Piglets were subjected to an inflammatory challenge by injecting
lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacteria
which triggers an immune response. Weanling pigs fed diets
containing different n-6:n-3 FA ratios responded differently to an
LPS induced immune challenge, and thus the FA profile of a ration
may affect the response of piglets to inflammatory challenges in
the nursery.