The Journal of Nutrition Ingestive Behavior and Neurosciences Maternal Fish Oil Supplementation Affects the

Background: Maternal dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake is thought to affect development in the offspring. Objective: We assessed the impact of maternal dietary DHA on behavior, brain fatty acid (FA) profile, and sickness response of offspring in pigs, a pertinent model for human nutrition. Methods: Sows (n = 24) were fed a diet with DHA-rich fish oil (FO) (20 g/kg) or high–oleic acid sunflower oil (HOSF) (20 g/kg) from day 61 of gestation through lactation. At 4 wk of age, 4 piglets per litter were weaned and mixed with piglets from other litters. Behavior was observed in 4- to 8-wk-old piglets, and brain FA composition was analyzed at 4 (n = 15) and 14 (n = 12) wk. Thirteen-week-old piglets (n = 48) were subjected to a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Body temperature, plasma cytokines, and motivation to approach a familiar human, indicative of a sickness response, were measured. Results: FO-fed pigs displayed more social activities (+262%, P = 0.02), played more (+61%, P = 0.03), and tended to show fewer oral manipulative behaviors directed at pen mates (225%, P = 0.06) than did HOSF-fed pigs up to 4 wk after weaning. Brain DHA concentrations were higher in FO- than in HOSF-fed pigs up to 10 wk after supplementation (+50– 10%, P < 0.001), although differences declined with age. Body temperature (P < 0.001) and tumor necrosis factor a and interferon g concentrations (P < 0.05) increased after LPS injection, but no diet effect was found (P> 0.10). LPS-treated pigs were less likely to approach the human than saline-treated pigs in the HOSF-fed (229%, P = 0.0003), but not in th