Milk Replacer Supplementation with Docosahexaenoic Acid from Microalgae Does Not Affect Growth and Immune Status in Goat Kids
Isabel Moreno-Indias,
Lorenzo E. Hernández-Castellano,
Davinia Sánchez-Macías,
Antonio Morales-delaNuez,
Alexandr Torres,
Anastasio Argüello,
Noemí Castro
Affiliations
Isabel Moreno-Indias
Animal Production and Biotechnology group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain
Lorenzo E. Hernández-Castellano
Animal Production and Biotechnology group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain
Davinia Sánchez-Macías
Animal Production and Industrialization Unit, Department of Agroindustrial Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, 060150 Riobamba, Ecuador
Antonio Morales-delaNuez
Agrobiotechnology Group, Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), 38206 La Laguna, Spain
Alexandr Torres
Unit of Animal Production, Pasture, and Forage in Arid and Subtropical Areas. Canary Islands Institute for Agricultural Research, 38200 La Laguna, Spain
Anastasio Argüello
Animal Production and Biotechnology group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain
Noemí Castro
Animal Production and Biotechnology group, Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413 Arucas, Spain
Consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has beneficial effects for consumers’ health. Consequently, there is an increased interest in enhancing meat fatty acid profiles (i.e., PUFA and DHA content) through diverse nutritional strategies. This study aimed to investigate the effect of supplementing a microalgae-derived product rich in DHA on growth and immune system development in newborn goat kids. In this experiment, newborn goat kids were fed milk replacer (MR) supplemented with three levels of a microalgae-derived product rich in DHA (DHA-Gold®, Martek Biosciences, MD, USA). Groups were designed as follows: MR-NS (milk replacer without DHA-Gold® supplementation; n = 10), MR-DHA-9 (9 g of DHA-Gold®/L milk replacer; n = 10) and MR-DHA-18 (18 g of DHA-Gold®/L milk replacer; n = 10). The immune status of the kids was evaluated by the plasma IgG and IgM concentrations, as well as by the complement system and chitotriosidase activities. Dietary supplementation with DHA did not affect either growth or innate and humoral immunity (p > 0.05). This study concludes that supplementation with DHA does not cause negative effects on growth and immune status in newborn goat kids.
