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Effect of Swine Weaning Age on Body Fat and Lipogenic Activity in Liver and Adipose Tissue^1,2,3,

The Ohio State University and The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of weaning swine at 2 or 5 wk of age on postweaning performance and fat metab- olism. In the first experiment, 52 pigs were weaned at 2 or 5 wk of age with body weights determined from birth to 8 wk. The early weaned group was fed a 20% protein corn- soybean meal-oat diet containing 25% dried whey from 2 to 5 wk while both groups were fed a 20% protein cereal grain-based diet from 5 to 8 wk of age. In a second experiment, a total of 90 pigs weaned at similar ages and fed the same diet sequences were killed at weekly intervals from 2 to 8 wk of age to evaluate body fat content and lipogenesis in liver and adipose tissue. Lipogenic capacity was measured by incorporation of acetate-1¹⁴C into the total lipid fraction in liver slices and adipose tissue minces or by monitoring liver ATP citrate lyase activity. The results demonstrate that pigs weaned at 2 wk experience a slower postweaning growth rate with lower empty body weights than those either concurrently nursing the dam or weaned at 5 wk of age. Both groups had similar body weights from 6 to 8 wk of age. The body fat content of nursing pigs increased from 2 to 5 wk of age. Pigs weaned at 2 wk lost approximately 25% of their body fat the first week postweaning while later-weaned pigs did not lose body fat postweaning. Body fat composition of both groups was similar by 8 wk of age. Lipogenic activity was higher in liver than in adipose tissue from 2 to 5 wk of age and remained relatively constant throughout the trial. Adipose tissue lipogenic activity was lower in the nursing pig but increased dramatically at 5 wk in the early-weaned group and 7 wk of age in the late weaned group. These results suggest that weaning age can affect postweaning body fat composition and that adipose contributes a greater lipogenic capacity than liver tissue as the pig matures.

¹ Salaries and research support provided by State and Federal Funds appropriated to the Ohio Agr. Res. and Dev. Center, The Ohio State Univ. Journal Article No. 60–84.

² Support also provided in part by the National Institutes of Health GM 29255 and by the Central Ohio Chapter of the American Heart Assoc.

³ Appreciation is expressed to R. Sabine and B. Taylor for their help in the collection of performance data and to P. Maxson, K. Lowry, M. Martino and M. Koch for their assistance in body composition determinations.

⁴ Dept. of Food Sci. and Nutr., The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH.

⁵ Reprint requests: Anim. Sci. Dept., The Ohio State Univ., Wooster, OH.

⁶ Present address: Central Soya Co., Inc., Decatur, IN.