Importance of the fat content within the cheese-matrix for blood lipid profile, faecal fat excretion, and gut microbiome in growing pigs

Abstract

Cheese and butter have been shown to affect blood lipids differently. This parallel-arm, randomised, controlled study in 36 crossbred growing sows compared the effect of diets with either regular-fat cheese (REG), reduced-fat cheese + butter (RED) or butter (BUT) on blood lipids, faecal fat and energy excretion and gut microbiome in pigs. A 14-d run-in period was followed by 14-d interventions with macronutrient-matched diets. Fasting total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol after 14 days were higher in REG compared with BUT, but only tended to be higher in RED. Compared with BUT, REG and RED had higher faecal fat excretion. Faecal energy excretion was only higher in REG, and this correlated with a lower microbiome Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. In conclusion, dairy fat consumed as cheese or butter caused different metabolic effects. Differences between reduced-fat cheese+butter and butter were less pronounced than differences between regular-fat cheese and butter, suggesting an impact of the dairy-matrix.