Effect of dietary protected lipids on the essential fatty acid status of the newborn kid.

Pregnant goats were fed either a control diet or one in which part of the concentrate ration was replaced, for either the last 2 mo or the last month of gestation, with a polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement protected from biohydrogenation in the rumen. On the day of parturition, goats fed a supplemented diet, during either 1 or 2 mo before parturition, exhibited markedly higher concentrations of linoleic acid in the major plasma lipid fractions, i.e., phospholipids, cholesteryl esters, triacylglycerols and nonesterified fatty acids, than did goats not fed the supplement. At birth, the four main lipid fractions in the plasma of the kids from goats fed the supplemented diet, during either 1 or 2 mo before parturition, exhibited considerably higher proportions of linoleic and arachidonic acids and lower proportions of eicosatrienoic acid than did those of newborn kids from unsupplemented mothers. These findings show appreciable transfer of lipids across the placenta and demonstrate that the low essential fatty acids status of kids at birth can be raised by this particular manipulation of the maternal diet.