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Excessive dietary intake of fats and sugars (“Western diet”, WD) is one of the leading causes of obesity. The consumption of the microalga Arthrospira platensis (spirulina, Sp) is increasing due to its presumed health benefits. Both WD and Sp are also consumed by pregnant and breastfeeding women. This study investigated if gestating and lactating domestic pigs are an appropriate model for WD-induced metabolic disturbances similar to those observed in humans and if Sp supplementation may attenuate any of these adverse effects. Pigs were fed a WD high in fat, sugars, and cholesterol or a control diet. Half of the animals per diet group were supplemented with 20 g Sp per day. The WD did not increase body weight or adipose tissue accumulation but led to metabolic impairments such as higher cholesterol concentration in plasma, lower IGF1 plasma levels, and signs of hepatic damage compared to the control group. Spirulina supplementation could not reduce all the metabolic impairments observed in WD-fed animals. These findings indicate limited suitability of gestating and lactating domestic pigs as a model for WD but a certain potential of low-dose Sp supplementation to partially attenuate negative WD effects.

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Feeding high-energy (HED) or high-fat diets during gestation and lactation to pigs may help cover the energy requirements of high-prolific sows but may also adversely affect their reproductive performance. The microalga Arthrospira plantensis (Sp), rich in bioactive compounds, has been described to exert beneficial health effects. The present study investigated the effects of HED and Sp intake during gestation and lactation in pigs. Twenty-four primiparous crossbred sows were fed either a HED or a control diet. Half of the sows per group were supplemented with 20 g/day of Sp. Despite a higher gross energy intake, consuming the HED did not affect the sows’ reproductive and lactational performance but significantly modified the colostrum fatty acid (FA) composition and tended to decrease the number of weaned piglets. The Sp supplementation did not affect the reproduction and lactation traits, but slightly affected the colostrum FA composition. A trend was observed for an interaction of diet and Sp in terms of offspring sex ratio with a 50% lower male-to-female ratio in the HED group compared to all other animals. These findings suggest that an HED and Sp intake hardly influence reproduction in sows. However, the HED modified the colostrum FA composition, whereas the Sp had only fewer effects, which may potentially affect offspring performance.