The Potential Effects of Flaxseed and its Related Products on the Reproductive Performances of Sows L. Eastwood and P. Leterme Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, SK, Canada Prairie Swine Centre Inc. Saskatoon, SK, Canada World Congress on Oils and Fats & 28 th ISF Congress September 27-30, 2009 Sydney, Australia
Flaxseed and its Related Products Flaxseed Oil Meal Also know as linseed Cool, temperate annual crop Canada is the leading world producer (26% of world crop) Used widely in chemicals industry Growing interest from health food industry By-product of chemicals industry Primarily used in animal nutrition (ruminant) Chemical Composition (% DM) Flaxseed Flaxseed Meal Crude Protein 25 30-35 Ether Extract 37 2-13 NDF 25 26 ADF 15 16 Phosphorus 0.6 0.9 Fatty Acid Composition (mg/g oil) Fatty Acid mg/g Oil Palmitic Acid 12.0 Stearic Acid 6.1 Oleic Acid 26.3 Linoleic Acid 23.4 α-linolenic Acid 59.3
Flaxseed and Pigs Flaxseed is the richest land-based source of omega-3 fatty acids There is significant potential for omega-3 fatty acids to play a role in reproduction as they are precursors for many different hormones and molecules throughout the body Reproduction is the most critical stage of pork production It is essential that pork producers maximize the reproductive performances of their animals in order to maximize profits
Swine Production Most critical stages of production are the breeding and farrowing to weaning periods Time period where pig flow through the barn is affected and producers can maximize the use of hog spaces thus maximizing profits Continual increases in litter sizes are occurring with genetic improvements Offset by reductions in the numbers of piglets born alive or increases in the number of small, weak born and immuno-compromised piglets
Swine Production: Pre-Weaning Hyper-prolific sows with increasing litter sizes 14 13 12 11 10 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total Piglets Born Per Litter Year Adapted from Boulot et al., 2008 French herd data
Swine Production: Pre-Weaning Large portion of the increase is offset by: in piglets born alive and in the number of small, weak piglets 3 2.5 Still Born Pre-Weaning Loses Piglets Per Litter 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Adapted from Boulot et al., 2008 French herd data
Swine Production: Pre-Weaning Production goal is 30 pigs per sow per year (PSY) This is equivalent to 12.5 piglets/litter based on the sow farrowing 2.4 times per year Pre-weaning mortality rate is approximately 21% Canadian Sow Herd = 1.36 million (Stats Canada, Jan 2009) 30 PSY x 1.36 million sows = 40.8 million piglets/year 40.8 million piglets/year x 21% pre-weaning mortality = 8.57 million pigs/yr lost U.S. Sow Herd = 5.97 million (USDA, June 2009) 30 PSY x 5.97 million sows = 179.1 million piglets/year 179.1 million piglets/year x 21% pre-weaning mortality = 37.6 million pigs/yr lost
Swine Production: Weaning Weaning is considered one of the most stressful time periods in a pigs life due to: Separation from their dam Mixing of animals into new groups Dietary changes (milk to solid food) At weaning the piglets will: Undergo a growth lag due to drops in feed intake Encounter a significant immune response generated by the highly stressful events It is highly important for producers to manage their newly weaned piglets properly in order to reduce the negative impacts of stress during this time period and thus improve piglet performance
Introduction Is it possible that dietary fatty acids can play a role in sow reproduction and piglet performance?
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) Contain more than one double bond (cisconfiguration) Include Omega 3 s, Omega 6 s, Omega 9 s and conjugated fatty acids Omega 3 s and 6 s are nutritionally essential α-linolenic acid
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Omega 3 s α-linolenic acid C18:3 n-3, ALA eicosapentaenoic acid C20:5 n-3, EPA docosahexaenoic acid C22:6 n-3, DHA Omega 6 s linoleic acid C18:2 n-6, LA arachidonic acid C20:4 n-6, AA Anti-inflammatory Anti-constrictor Anti-thrombotic Pro-inflammatory Pro-constrictor Pro-thrombotic
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Precursors for several different hormones and immune molecules (eicosanoids) PGF 2α Linoleic Acid (LA) n-6 Arachidonic Acid (AA) Leukotriene B4 Thromboxane A2 α-linolenic Acid (ALA) n-3 Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) PGF 3α Leukotriene B5 Thromboxane A3 Eicosanoids produced from n-3 fatty acids are generally less biologically active than those produced from the n-6 fatty acids
Prostaglandins (PG s) Defined as a group of physiologically active substances that are present in most tissues throughout the body with a wide variety of functions Include PGE, PGF, PGA and PGB PGE 2 and PGF 2α are highly involved in reproduction PGE 2 is an ovulatory inhibitor PGF 2α is luteolytic 2-series PG s (such as PGE 2 and PGF 2α ) are derived from omega-6 fatty acids and 3-series PG s (such as PGE 3 and PGF 3α ) are derived from omega-3 s Increasing the 3-series PG s at the expense of the 2-series PG s by altering the fatty acid profile of the diet may lead to improvements in ovulation and reductions in early lysis of the corpora lutea, thus improving the reproductive biology of the animal
Immune Molecules - Eicosanoids Leukotrienes Family of conjugated trienes formed from PUFA s Produced by leukocytes, macrophages, platelets and mast cells Secreted in response to immunologic stimuli Thromboxanes Synthesized in platelets Involved in vasoconstriction and platelet aggregation Increasing dietary n-3 fatty acids at the expense of n-6 fatty acids will shift the production of these eicosanoids towards the less biologically potent forms May be beneficial during periods of chronic inflammatory responses such as that which occurs at weaning
Immune Molecules - Cytokines Pro-inflammatory proteins secreted by immune cells in response to stimuli. They assist in regulating the development of immune effector cells or act as an effector themselves The n-3 fatty acids modulate cytokine function by acting on intracellular signaling pathways, altering transcription factor activity and gene expression Chronic secretion of these pro-inflammatory molecules can lead to poor animal performance, decreased feed intakes, muscle catabolism and will divert nutrients towards the continual synthesis of immune molecules Increasing dietary omega-3 s may reduce the production of these proinflammatory molecules, which may be beneficial during certain stages of pig production (such as weaning) when a chronic immune response is occurring
Dietary Omega-3 PUFA s Shown to: omega-3 PUFA s in sow and piglet blood as well as milk Fritsche et al., 1993 litter size and piglet weight Baidoo et al., 2003 piglets born alive Webel et al., 2003 piglet pre-weaning survival Rooke et al., 2001 milk production and protein content in dairy cows Petit et al., 2004
Dietary Omega-3 PUFA s inflammatory and immune cells such as pro-inflammatory cytokines Simopoulos, 2006; Wathes et al., 2007 IgA in human milk Dunstan et al., 2004 IgG in milk of corn fed sows (high omega-6) Jackson et al., 1995 PGF 2α in dairy cows, in abortion rates Ambrose et al., 2006 PGE 2 in cows, ovulation, conception, embryonic losses Petit and Twagiramungu, 2006 CL size and progesterone during gestation in cows Petit et al., 2002; Ambrose et al., 2006
Dietary PUFA s Little or no work done looking at the effects of dietary omega-3 to omega-6 PUFA ratios or the differences between plant based and fish based omega-3 s on sow reproductive performances, and on piglet immune cell profiles Typical omega-6 to omega-3 ratios range from 20:1 to 10:1 whereas it is believed that the optimal level for general functioning is <2:1
Our Research Program
General Hypothesis Reducing the dietary ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFA s in sows will improve reproductive biology and efficiency, as well as improve the immune status of piglets through the manipulation of many biological processes occurring within the body General Objectives To improve the reproductive performance and efficiency of sows by changing the dietary n-6 to n-3 PUFA ratios in their diets, thus improving the economic status of sow reproduction
Acknowledgements Additional funding by the National Pork Board is gratefully acknowledged