Abstract
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers are known for their health-promoting effects in mammals and metabolic functions in dairy cows and are synthesized in the forestomach depending on essential fatty acid (EFA) intake. The current preliminary study investigated effects of a maternal fatty acid supplementation (MFAS) during late pregnancy and early lactation with coconut oil (CON, control), CLA (Lutalin®), or CLA + EFA (Lutalin® linseed oil; safflower oil) on plasma fatty acid composition and T and B cell subsets in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and the small intestine of 5-day-old calves. MFAS of CLA + EFA increased α-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic, and n-3 fatty acid proportions in calf plasma fat on days 1 and 5 after birth (P < 0.05). On day 5, CLA and CLA + EFA calves showed higher plasma fat trans-10, cis-12 CLA proportions, and CLA calves had higher plasma cis-9, trans-11 CLA proportions compared with CON calves (P < 0.1). MFAS of CLA tended to increase CD4+ T cell subsets in MLN and increased CD21+ B cell subsets in ileal lamina propria compared with CON but decreased CD2+ T cell subsets in jejunal lamina propria (P < 0.05). CLA + EFA decreased CD4+ T cell subsets in MLN compared with CLA (P < 0.05). MFAS of CLA seemed to affect the intestinal adaptive immune system of calves, but additional EFA supplementations reversed CLA effects. Possible direct CLA and EFA effects or whether changes in milk composition affected this immune modulation must be clarified in further studies.
Highlights
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers are known for their health-promoting effects in mammals and different metabolic functions in the dairy cow [1,2,3]
With regard to the effects of CLA on the chemical and fatty acid composition in milk and its direct effects on the intestine, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of a maternal CLA supplementation during late pregnancy and early lactation either with or without essential fatty acid (EFA) supplementation on the intestinal adaptive immune system in neonatal calves
Crude protein, lactose, and fat content of first colostrum and milk on day 5 are summarized in Table 1, and fatty acid composition of first colostrum and in plasma fat of calves on days 1 and 5 are shown in Tables 1, 2
Summary
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers are known for their health-promoting effects in mammals and different metabolic functions in the dairy cow [1,2,3]. Milk is the most important source of nutrients for the calf in the first weeks after birth These alterations might have a direct impact on the calf because fatty acids and their metabolites are, besides their caloric effects, important cell membrane components, play a key role as substrates in many biochemical pathways, and are known as cell signaling molecules and immune modulators [9, 10]. Maternal CLA supplementation reduced the intestinal mucosal inflammation in piglets after Escherichia coli infection [16]
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