Effect of menhaden fish oil supplementation and lipopolysaccharide exposure on nursery pigs. I. Effects on the immune axis when fed diets containing spray-dried plasma

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential immunological benefit of adding menhaden fish oil to the diet of weaned pigs. Twenty-four crossbred male pigs were weaned at approximately 18 days of age and placed on a complex nursery diet containing 30% lactose and 7% plasma protein with 6% corn oil as the fat source (Cont, n=12) or with 5% menhaden fish oil and 1% corn oil as the fat source (MFO, n=12) for a period of 15 days. Body weights did not differ (P>0.78) between dietary groups either at the beginning or end of the 15 days feeding period. On day 15, all pigs were non-surgically fitted with an indwelling jugular catheter. On d 16, pigs received an i.v. injection of either saline (n=6/dietary group) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 150 micrograms/kg body weight; n=6/dietary group) and blood samples were collected at 30 min intervals for a period of 5 h. Serum was harvested and stored at -80 degrees C for analysis of cortisol (CS), corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). There was no significant effect of diet on basal concentrations (Time 0) of any of the blood parameters analyzed. A Time x Treatment x Diet interaction (P<0.03) was observed for serum CS such that those pigs which consumed the MFO diet followed by LPS treatment had a reduced CS response as compared to the LPS-treated pigs on the Cont diet. A Time x Treatment interaction (P<0.01) was observed for serum CBG such that LPS treatment reduced circulating CBG as compared to the saline-treated pigs. Time x Treatment x Diet interactions were also observed for serum concentrations of TNF-alpha (P=0.084) and IFN-gamma (P=0.022) such that both the TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma response to the LPS challenge was lower in those pigs receiving the MFO diet as compared to the LPS-treated pigs on the Cont diet. Overall, serum CS was negatively correlated with the CBG response (r=-0.40, P<0.001), however, the strongest negative correlation was observed in the LPS-treated pigs which consumed the MFO diet (r=-0.63, P<0.001). While further studies are needed to evaluate the immunological response of including MFO in the nursery pig diet, the present study demonstrates that supplementation with MFO does indeed alter the immunological response to an LPS challenge.