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Effects of dietary supplementation with flax during prepuberty on fatty acid profile, mammogenesis, and bone resorption in gilts^1,2

C. Farmer^*,3, H. V. Petit^*, H. Weiler and A. V. Capuco

^* Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Dairy and Swine R & D Centre, PO Box 90, Lennoxville Stn., Sherbrooke, QC J1M 1Z3, Canada; and School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; and USDA-ARS, Bovine Functional Genomics Lab, Beltsville, MD 20705

³ Corresponding author: farmerc{at}agr.gc.ca

The possible role of dietary flax on pre-pubertal development of mammary glands and bone resorption was investigated in gilts. Fifty-seven gilts were fed 1 of 4 diets from 88 d of age until slaughter (d 212 ± 1). Diets were control without flax (n = 14); 10% flaxseed supplementation (n = 13); 6.5% flaxseed meal supplementation (n = 15); and 3.5% flaxseed oil supplementation (n = 15). All diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. Jugular blood samples were obtained on d 78 and 210 to establish the fatty acid profile and to determine the concentrations of prolactin, estradiol, and cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen. At slaughter, the mammary glands were excised, parenchymal and extraparenchymal tissues were dissected, and the composition of the parenchymal tissue (protein, fat, DM, and DNA) was determined. Histochemical analyses of the mammary parenchyma were performed, and fatty acid profiles in the extraparenchymal tissue were evaluated. Dietary flax increased (P 0.001) the concentrations of PUFA and decreased those of SFA (P < 0.01) and MUFA (P 0.001) in plasma and extraparenchymal tissues, which was largely due to the inclusion of 10% flaxseed or 3.5% flaxseed oil (P 0.01) but not 6.5% flaxseed meal. Circulating concentrations of prolactin and estradiol were unaltered by treatments (P > 0.1), but concentrations of cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen tended to be greater (P < 0.1) in flax-supplemented gilts. The DM content of parenchymal tissue was the only mammary compositional value affected, showing an increase with flax addition (P < 0.05). No change (P 0.1) in the bromodeoxyuridine labeling index or estrogen receptor localization was observed with treatments. Dietary supplementation with flax as seed, meal, or oil, therefore, brought about the expected changes in the fatty acid profile but had no beneficial effects on mammary development or bone resorption.

Key Words: bone resorption • flaxseed • mammary development • mammary gland • pig • prepubertal female

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Farmer and H. V. Petit Effects of dietary supplementation with different forms of flax in late-gestation and lactation on fatty acid profiles in sows and their piglets J Anim Sci, August 1, 2009; 87(8): 2600 - 2613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]