The benefits of algae meal supplementation during pregnancy on piglet and weaner pig health

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Factors such as maternal health and intra- and extra-uterine environment conditions greatly contribute to the health potential of the piglet, and in its' immunocompromised state, it is not surprising that the piglet is the most highly disease susceptible stage of development. Human and rodent studies have demonstrated that dietary supplementation with anti-inflammatory n-3 PUFAs provides health benefits during states of chronic inflammation. n-3 PUFAs may also provide health benefits to the neonatal pig, but this cannot be effectively achieved without maternal n-3 PUFA supplementation during pregnancy. This project will assess the health benefits of algae meal (AM) as a source of n-3 PUFAs on fetal, neonatal and weaner pig health. Sows will be fed different ratios of n-3 PUFAs and n-6 PUFAs (soybean meal (SM)) during late pregnancy. Half of the sows will be stressed by immune system stimulation with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to simulate an infection during pregnancy. Piglet robustness will be measured to assess the health benefits of AM for the developing fetus and neonatal pig. The specific objectives of the project are to: 1) assess and compare the incorporation of PUFAs in piglet blood and tissue following maternal AM versus FM supplementation, 2) investigate and compare the effect of maternal AM versus FM supplementation on the piglet hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) response to weaning stress and 3) investigate and compare the effect of maternal AM versus FM supplementation, as well as the interactions of this supplementation with nursery diet complexity on weaner pig antibody-mediated (AbMIR) and cell-mediated (CMIR) immune responses. New knowledge obtained from this study has the potential to improve piglet health and reduce piglet and weaner pig mortality, ultimately reducing economic losses to the producer. Lastly, by using AM as an innovative sustainable source of n-3 PUFAs, pressure on Canadian and worldwide wild fishery stocks will be reduced ensuring the existence of this industry in the future.