Interactions between major nutrients in the diet and the lactational performance of rats

The effect on lactational performance of replacing feed carbohydrate with fat at two different protein levels was studied. Lactating Sprague–Dawley rats with a standardized litter size of thirteen pups were allocated one of eight feeds containing either 300 or 150 g protein/kg organic matter (OM) and ranging in fat content from 100 to 550 g/kg OM from day 2 until day 14 of lactation. Daily food intake, live-weight gains, and changes in body composition of both dams and litters were measured. Feeds of low protein content resulted in a significant decline (P < 0.001) in lactational performance despite a significant increase (P < 0.001) in maternal protein mobilization. Maternal lipid mobilization was not significantly affected by feed composition. Litter lipid gain was significantly increased (P < 0.05) as fat replaced carbohydrate in the high-protein feeds, due to an increase in maternal energy intake. In contrast, lactational performance was severely depressed (P < 0.001) as fat replaced carbohydrate in the low-protein feeds. This interaction between feed components on lactational performance was in accordance with the hypothesis that the heat production of lactating rats is maximal and, hence, constraining intake.