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Daily supplementation with fish oil (FO-) may affect the composition of the fecal bacteria population. Different studies have reported a positive effect of n-3 long chain poly unsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) on fat tissue. Early life is a particular period to investigate how n-3 LCPUFA may affect gut microbiota and if it could be related to changes in body composition as this is a dynamic period with severe physiological adaptation to the surrounding environment. The hypothesis was that the effect of n-3 LCPUFA on the adipose tissue could be mediated through the intestinal microbiota. Therefore the objective was to investigate if n-3 PUFA affects fat storage and cecal microbiota profile in piglets. A total of twenty-four 4-day-old piglets from two separate litters were allocated to formula rich in n-3 PUFA from FO- (providing 34% eicosapentaenoic acid dosahexaenoic acid in a ratio 1:1) or n-6 PUFA from sunflower oil (SO, of which 67% was linoleic acid) for 14 days. Body weight, fat accumulation by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, erythrocyte (RBC) FA composition and microbial molecular fingerprints from cecum were assessed.
Dietary PUFA-composition was reflected in higher RBC n-3 PUFA in the FO- than the SO-group (P < 0.001). On average, the piglets almost doubled their weight and fat tissue mass during the 14-d intervention period, but the formula fat composition, FO-enriched vs. SO-enriched, did not have a significant impact neither in body weight nor on the size of the adipose tissues measured in absolute fat mass or percentage of body fat in piglets. Principal component analysis revealed group differences in the overall microbiotic composition, which involved a larger Bacteroides community in the SO-group (P = 0.02). There was no relationship between fat accumulation and gut Bacteroides. Current data suggest that n-3 LCPUFA can have a detrimental impact on members of the Bacteroidetes community.
The study revealed no evidence to support that n-3 LCPUFA affect body fat accumulation, and no evidence to support a negative correlation between the cecal content of Bacteroides and fat deposition after weaning associated with initial gut colonization.
AD Andersen, L Mølbak, T Thymann, KF Michaelsen, L Lauritzen. Dietary long-chain n-3 PUFA, gut microbiota and fat mass in early postnatal piglet development-exploring a potential interplay 2011. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, 85:345-351.