Odd-chain fatty acids-enriched fats improved the growth and intestinal morphology and function in milk replacers-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 odd chain fatty acids (OCFAs) with different forms on the growth and intestinal morphology and function in milk replacers-fed piglets, as a model for human infants. Forty 7-day-old piglets from 8 sows were randomly assigned into 5 groups (n = 8, each of them was from different litters) and fed sow milk or milk replacers supplemented with different kinds of fats (namely, the control fats, and the DHA algal oil-, OCFA algal oil-, and OCFA-enriched fats) for 21 days. The statistical analysis about the data from milk replacers-fed piglet groups was conducted on the one-way ANOVA. And the data between sow milk- and milk replacers-fed piglets were analyzed by unpaired t-test. Milk replacers supplemented with OCFA-enriched fats increased the average daily gain (ADG) and the ratio of villus height to crypt depth, increased the protein expression of Ki67, p-mTOR, p-p70S6k, Occludin, Claudin, and ZO-1 in selected intestines, and decreased the protein expression of p-ULK1, Parkin, and PINK1 to levels similar to the sow milk group (P < 0.05). Overall, milk replacers supplemented with OCFA-enriched fats improved the ADG and intestinal morphology and function of piglets to levels comparable to the sow milk-fed piglets.