Retinal fatty acids of piglets fed docosahexaenoic and arachidonic acids from microbial sources

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) serve important roles in perinatal visual and neural development. A neonatal pig model was used to determine if dietary supplementation with DHA and AA at slightly greater concentrations than normally found in human milk would influence fatty acid accretion in retina. One-day-old piglets were assigned to one of four diets (n = 5/group): (i) STD, standard diet containing fat similar to infant formula; (ii) STD + DHA, 0.7% of fatty acids as DHA; (iii) STD + AA, 0.9% as AA; and (iv) STD + BOTH, 0.8% as DHA plus 1.0% as AA. After 25 d, fatty acids in retina phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were determined. Supplementation with DHA resulted in approximately twofold increases (P < 0.05) in PC-DHA (4.88% in STD vs. 10.03% in STD + DHA and 9.47% in STD + BOTH). Similarly, AA supplementation increased PC-AA 1.3-1.4-fold (4.47% in STD vs. 6.19% in STD + AA and 5.70% in STD + BOTH). For PE, supplementation with either fatty acid or in combination resulted in no significant increases, except for a 1.2-fold increase in DHA for STD + BOTH (32.66%) vs. STD (28.38%). Thus, PC responded to dietary supplementation, with addition of DHA, AA, or BOTH, resulting in increases in respective fatty acids; PE was less responsive, with only STD + BOTH resulting in increased DHA. No significant competition between DHA and AA in incorporation into phospholipids was observed. In conclusion, consumption of a combination of DHA and AA by neonatal pigs supported accretion of DHA in retina phospholipids, while simultaneously supplying the AA-necessary for membrane phospholipids and eicosanoid biosynthesis.