Nutritional and physiological role of medium-chain triglycerides and medium-chain fatty acids in piglets

Abstract

Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are found at higher levels in milk lipids of many animal species and in the oil fraction of several plants, including coconuts, palm kernels and certain Cuphea species. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and fatty acids are efficiently absorbed and metabolized and are therefore used for piglet nutrition. They may provide instant energy and also have physiological benefits beyond their energetic value contributing to several findings of improved performance in piglet-feeding trials. MCTs are effectively hydrolyzed by gastric and pancreatic lipases in the newborn and suckling young, allowing rapid provision of energy for both enterocytes and intermediary hepatic metabolism. MCFAs affect the composition of the intestinal microbiota and have inhibitory effects on bacterial concentrations in the digesta, mainly on Salmonella and coliforms. However, most studies have been performed in vitro up to now and in vivo data in pigs are still scarce. Effects on the gut-associated and general immune function have been described in several animal species, but they have been less studied in pigs. The addition of up to 8% of a non-esterified MCFA mixture in feed has been described, but due to the sensory properties this can have a negative impact on feed intake. This may be overcome by using MCTs, allowing dietary inclusion rates up to 15%. Feeding sows with diets containing 15% MCTs resulted in a lower mortality of newborns and better development, particularly of underweight piglets. In conclusion, MCFAs and MCTs offer advantages for the improvement of energy supply and performance of piglets and may stabilize the intestinal microbiota, expanding the spectrum of feed additives supporting piglet health in the post-weaning period.

Marked Synergistic Bactericidal Effects and Mode of Action of Medium-Chain Fatty Acids in Combination with Organic Acids against Escherichia coli O157:H7

“…Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are a family of saturated medium-chain fatty acids that includes caprylic acid (CLA; C 8:0 ), capric acid (CRA; C 10:0 ), and lauric acid (LRA; C 12:0 ) (14). They are naturally present in foods, such as coconut oil, palm kernels, cow's milk, and human breast milk (14)(15)(16), and are often used as nutritional supplements (17).…”

“…They are naturally present in foods, such as coconut oil, palm kernels, cow's milk, and human breast milk (14)(15)(16), and are often used as nutritional supplements (17). MCFAs and their corresponding monoglycerides (monocaprylin, monocaprin, and monolaurin) also have antimicrobial properties and show broad-spectrum activity against a number of bacterial species (18)(19)(20).…”

Effects of medium-chain fatty acids on the structure and immune response of IPEC-J2 cells

“…As stated by Zentek et al (2011), the undissociated forms of the MCFAs have generally the stronger effects, but at neutral pH they would be in the dissociated form. For instance, Marounek et al (2003) found no effect on the viable E. coli count after short term incubation with C8 or C10 at pH 6.5 but a strong decrease was observed at a pH of 5.2.…”

“…This study investigated the effects of MCFAs on physiological response of the porcine IPEC-J2 cell line after challenge with pathogenic bacteria and its As reviewed by Zentek et al (2011), the results obtained in different in vitro studies using C8 and C10 against the bacterial species also used in this study are contradictory regarding both the presence or absence of effect and the concentration needed to inhibit growth of bacteria. Marounek et al (2002) found a significant in vitro antimicrobial activity of C8 and C10 against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria present in gastrointestinal tract of ruminants and rabbits.…”

“…They are found in milk fat of some species (Breckenridge and Kuksis 1967) and in some vegetable sources like coconut and palm kernel oil (Marten et al 2006) or some seed fats of the Lythraceaea (Cuphea species) and Lauraceae families (Graham and Knapp 1989;Chow 1992). Different in vitro studies have shown antimicrobial effects against some algae, fungi, protozoa, viruses and Gram-positive bacteria (Desbois and Smith 2010) but results on their effect against Gram-negative bacteria are contradictory (Zentek et al 2011). MCFAs have been tested as an alternative for antibiotics in pig production with promising results (Dierick et al 2002a, b;Decuypere and Dierick 2003).…”