Maternal dietary conjugated linoleic acid alters hepatic triacylglycerol and tissue fatty acids in hatched chicks.

The effects of feeding CLA to hens on newly hatched chick hepatic and carcass lipid content, liver TAG accumulation, and FA incorporation in chick tissues such as liver, heart, brain, and adipose were studied. These tissues were selected owing to their respective roles in lipid assimilation (liver), as a major oxidation site (heart), as a site enriched with long-chain polyunsaturates for function (brain), and as a storage depot (adipose). Eggs with no, low, or high levels of CLA were produced by feeding hens a corn-soybean meal-basal diet containing 3% (w/w) corn oil (Control), 2.5% corn oil + 0.5% CLA oil (CLA1), or 2% corn oil + 1.0% CLA oil (CLA2). The egg yolk content of total CLA was 0.0, 1.0, and 2.6% for Control, CLA1, and CLA2, respectively (P< 0.05). Maternal dietary CLA resulted in a decrease in chick carcass total fat (P < 0.05). Liver tissue of CLA2 chicks had the lowest fat content (P < 0.05). The liver TAG content was 8.2, 5.8, and 5.1 mg/g for Control, CLA1, and CLA2 chicks, respectively(P < 0.05). The chicks hatched from CLA1 and CLA2 incorporated higher levels of cis-9,trans-11 CLA in the liver, plasma, adipose, and brain than Control (P< 0.05). The content of 18:0 was higher in the liver, plasma, adipose, and brain of CLA1 and CLA2 than Control (P< 0.05), but no difference was observed in the 18:0 content of heart tissue. A significant reduction in 18:1 was observed in the liver, plasma, adipose, heart, and brain of CLA1 and CLA2 chicks (P< 0.05). DHA (22:6n-3) was reduced in the heart and brain of CLA1 and CLA2 chicks (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in carcass weight, dry matter, or ash content of chicks (P> 0.05). The hatchabilities of fertile eggs were 78, 34, and 38% for Control, CLA1, and CLA2, respectively (P< 0.05). The early dead chicks were higher in CLA1 and CLA2 than Control (18 and 32% compared with 9% for Control), and alive but not hatched chicks were 15 and 19% for CLAl and CLA2, compared with 8% for Control (P < 0.05). Maternal supplementation with CLA leads to a reduction in hatchability, liver TAG, and carcass total fat in newly hatched chicks.