Eighty-six crossbred (Duroc x Yorkshire) gilts were
used in two trials (50 gilts in Trial 1 and 36 gilts in
Trial 2) for an assessment of the effect of supplemental
dietary fat during early gestation on fetal survival, fetal
development, and fatty acid concentration in gilt plasma and
fetal head and body. Three diets contained 4% (w/w) added
fat either as coconut, soybean, or fish (menhaden) oils. A
fourth diet was used as a control. On d 37 to 45
postbreeding, gilts were slaughtered and numerous fetal and
ovarian measurements made. Two sets of four randomly
selected fetuses per gilt from Trial 1 were prepared. Blood
samples from each gilt were obtained on the day of slaughter
for determination of the plasma fatty acid profile. Across
both trials, percentage fetal survival did not differ
according to treatment, but in Trial 2 fetal survival was
higher (P < .06) for gilts fed fish oil, compared with the
controls. The fatty acid profile of plasma of gilts and the
conceptus tissues were similiar; both were influenced by the fatty acid concentration of the diets. The ratio of
n-3/n-6 fatty acids was higher in conceptus tissue than in
maternal plasma and the ratio was higher (P < .05) for the
fish oil diet compared with the other diets. The relatively
high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids in fetal tissues
supports the hypothesis that omega-3 fatty acids play a role
in the development of the pig conceptus and contributes to
improve fetal survival. However, the high percentage fetal
survival observed in all the treatments may have masked
benefits of supplemental oil.
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