Premium
Partitioning of Rumen‐Protected n‐3 and n‐6 Fatty Acids is Organ‐Specific in Growing Angus Heifers
Author(s) -
Wolf Christina,
Gredig Nicole,
Ulbrich Susanne E.,
Kreuzer Michael,
Berard Joel,
Giller Katrin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1002/lipd.12183
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , rumen , eicosapentaenoic acid , docosahexaenoic acid , kidney , biology , linoleic acid , spleen , metabolism , fish oil , fatty acid metabolism , fatty acid , medicine , zoology , biochemistry , food science , endocrinology , immunology , fish <actinopterygii> , fermentation , fishery
Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially n‐3 and n‐6 fatty acids (FA), play an important role in the regulation of FA metabolism in all mammals. However, FA metabolism differs between different organs, suggesting a distinct partitioning of highly relevant FA. For the present study in cattle, a novel technology was applied to overcome rumen biohydrogenation of dietary unsaturated FA. Angus heifers were fed a straw‐based diet supplemented for 8 weeks with 450 g/day of rumen‐protected oil, either from fish (FO) or sunflower (SO). The FA composition in blood and five important organs, namely heart, kidney, liver, lung, and spleen, was examined. In blood, proportions of polyunsaturated FA were increased by supplementing FO compared to SO. The largest increase of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) proportion was found with FO instead of SO in the kidney, the lowest in the lung. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was increased more in the liver than in kidney, lung, and spleen. The heart incorporated seven times more EPA than DHA, which is more than all other organs and described here for the first time in ruminants. In addition, the heart had the highest proportions of α‐linolenic acid (18:3n‐3) and linoleic acid (18:2n‐6) of all organs. The proportions of polyunsaturated FA in the lung and spleen were exceptionally low compared to heart, liver, and kidney. In conclusion, it was shown that the response to FO in the distribution of dietary n‐3 FA was organ‐specific while proportions of n‐6 FA were quite inert with respect to the type of oil supplemented.