A 3-week dietary bioequivalence study in preweaning farm piglets of two sources of docosahexaenoic acid produced from two different organisms

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) are components of human breast milk and commonly added to infant formula. The first DHA-containing algal oil for infant formulas was DHASCO® produced from the microalgae Crypthecodinium cohnii. Recently, new DHA-rich oil was obtained from the microalgae Schizochytrium sp., herein named DHASCO-B. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the bioequivalence of DHASCO-B to DHASCO when administered in a blend with ARA oil and the potential effects after 3 weeks’ administration in milk replacer formula to preweaning farm piglets. DHASCO-B and DHASCO were added to formula at concentrations 0.32% and 0.96% DHA (% of total fatty acids). There were no test article-related effects of any diet on piglet growth and development (clinical observations, body weight, food consumption), or clinical pathology parameters (hematology, clinical chemistry, coagulation and urinalysis). In addition, there were no adverse effects at terminal necropsy (macro- and microscopic pathology evaluations). DHA content in plasma, RBC, heart, liver and brain showed dose-related accumulation and confirmed no differences between corresponding DHASCO-B and DHASCO groups. Therefore, dietary exposure to DHASCO-B and DHASCO was well tolerated by the preweaning piglets during the 3-week dosing period right after birth and DHASCO-B and DHASCO were bioequivalent.