Abstract
Sialic acid (SA) is an integral component of gangliosides and signaling molecules in the brain and its dietary intake may support cognitive development. We previously reported that feeding sialyllactose, a milk oligosaccharide that contains SA, alters SA content and diffusivity in the pig brain. The present research sought to expand upon such results and describe the effects of feeding sialyllactose on recognition memory and sleep/wake activity using a translational pig model. Pigs were provided ad libitum access to a customized milk replacer containing 0 g/L or 380 g/L of sialyllactose from postnatal day (PND) 2–22. Beginning on PND 15, pigs were fitted with accelerometers to track home-cage activity and testing on the novel object recognition task began at PND 17. There were no significant effects of diet on average daily body weight gain, average daily milk intake, or the gain-to-feed ratio during the study (all p ≥ 0.11). Pigs on both diets were able to display recognition memory on the novel object recognition task (p < 0.01), but performance and exploratory behavior did not differ between groups (all p ≥ 0.11). Total activity and percent time spent sleeping were equivalent between groups during both day and night cycles (all p ≥ 0.56). Dietary sialyllactose did not alter growth performance of young pigs, and there was no evidence that providing SA via sialyllactose benefits the development of recognition memory or gross sleep-related behaviors.
Highlights
Human milk has been shown to have numerous benefits in comparison to infant formula in stimulating the growth and development of gastrointestinal and immune systems [1]
Taken together with the findings of Jacobi and colleagues [17], these results show that feeding SL results in dose-dependent, structural, and region-specific increases in brain sialic acid (SA), but it remains to be shown whether this has functional consequences for behavior
The trial was completed in one replicate with pigs per diet, selected from 9 L to control for genetics and initial bodyweight
Summary
Human milk has been shown to have numerous benefits in comparison to infant formula in stimulating the growth and development of gastrointestinal and immune systems [1]. There is mounting evidence that components of human milk such as DHA [4], choline [5], and gangliosides [6] support brain development, and emerging research suggests milk oligosaccharides (ranging from 3–32 monosaccharide units in length [7]) may contribute to brain development as well [8]. As sialic acid (SA) is present at relatively high concentrations in the brain as a part of gangliosides and signaling molecules that regulate neurodevelopment [6], the impact of sialylated oligosaccharides such as sialyllactose (SL) is of interest as they may support brain development
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