This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary fatty acids on peptidyl-leukotriene production released by lung tissue in neonatal pigs. A total of 32 neonatal pigs from eight litters were fed with diets containing one of four different oils (3.6% of coconut oil, fish oil, lard or soybean oil plus 0.4% soybean oil as essential fatty acid repleat) for either two or three weeks. At the end of feeding period, 1 g of lung tissue from each piglet was taken, minced, and then incubated in 10 mL Tyrode's buffer with or without calcium ionophore at 37°C for 45 minutes. After incubation, 9 mL of media were mixed with 0.2 IU/mL of each leucine aminopeptidase and γ-glutamic trans-peptidase to convert leukotrienes C and D into leukotriene E. The total amount of leukotriene E was determined by radioimmunoassay. The results revealed that growth performance and feed intake were not affected by different dietary treatments. However, fatty acid composition of lung lipids was modulated by dietary fats. The levels of arachidonic acid, the major precursor of leukotriene, in lung lipids among four groups were different (P < 0.05). The piglets fed with fish oil diet had lower level of arachidonic acid in their lungs but higher basal release of leukotriene than other groups (P < 0.05) although no differences in the stimulated-leukotriene synthesis among groups feeding for two weeks were observed. However, stimulated-leukotriene synthesis among groups feeding for three weeks was significantly different (P < 0.05), in which the lung tissue of coconut oil-fed piglets had the highest level of arachidonic acid but released the lowest amount of peptidyl-leukotriene. From these results, it was concluded that fish oil containing n-3 fatty acids did not have the beneficial effect on the production of leukotriene and the synthesis of peptidyl-leukotriene was not directly correlated with the amount of arachidonic acid in lung tissue.
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary fatty acids on peptidyl-leukotriene production released by lung tissue in neonatal pigs. A total of 32 neonatal pigs from eight litters were fed with diets containing one of four different oils (3.6% of coconut oil, fish oil, lard or soybean oil plus 0.4% soybean oil as essential fatty acid repleat) for either two or three weeks. At the end of feeding period, 1 g of lung tissue from each piglet was taken, minced, and then incubated in 10 mL Tyrode's buffer with or without calcium ionophore at 37°C for 45 minutes. After incubation, 9 mL of media were mixed with 0.2 IU/mL of each leucine aminopeptidase and γ-glutamic trans-peptidase to convert leukotrienes C and D into leukotriene E. The total amount of leukotriene E was determined by radioimmunoassay. The results revealed that growth performance and feed intake were not affected by different dietary treatments. However, fatty acid composition of lung lipids was modulated by dietary fats. The levels of arachidonic acid, the major precursor of leukotriene, in lung lipids among four groups were different (P < 0.05). The piglets fed with fish oil diet had lower level of arachidonic acid in their lungs but higher basal release of leukotriene than other groups (P < 0.05) although no differences in the stimulated-leukotriene synthesis among groups feeding for two weeks were observed. However, stimulated-leukotriene synthesis among groups feeding for three weeks was significantly different (P < 0.05), in which the lung tissue of coconut oil-fed piglets had the highest level of arachidonic acid but released the lowest amount of peptidyl-leukotriene. From these results, it was concluded that fish oil containing n-3 fatty acids did not have the beneficial effect on the production of leukotriene and the synthesis of peptidyl-leukotriene was not directly correlated with the amount of arachidonic acid in lung tissue.