54.

Reunião Anual da Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia

25 a 28 de Julho de 2017
Hotel Bourbon Cataratas – Foz do Iguaçu - Brasil

Effect of the essential fatty acids source on reproductive performance of

laboratory mice

Adolpho Marlon Antoniol de Moura*1, Clóvis de Paula Santos2, Rebeca Alves Weigel3,
Hellencrys Camargo Wacelkoski4, Maíra Longue Scheidegger2, Carolina Estephanele
Sentineli2, Leonardo Siqueira Glória2, Karoll Andrea Alfonso Torres Cordido 2
1
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (ICTB/Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil; Darcy Ribeiro
North Fluminense of State University (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, Brazil;
3
Veterinary Medical Doctor, Curitiba/PR; 4Animal Scientist, Curitiba/PR.
*Researcher of Laboratory Animal Science – antoniol@fiocruz.br

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) play a key role in the sexual maturity and reproductive performance
of animals. However, there are many EFA fonts with very different profiles. In this study, fish
and linseed oils were tested as source of EFA in pellets ration for breeding mice (license
CEUA /UENF 326/16). The best way to rations sterilization, irradiation or autoclaving, was also
evaluated.It was used 20 couples of NIH mice (Mus musculus), mated at seven-week-old. The
experimental design was the completely randomized with seven treatments, five replicates with
two animals per cage. The experimental rations were given ad libitum as described below: T1 -
AE7 SALMON OIL (OS - positive control); T2 - AE7 OS irradiated; T3 - AE7 OS autoclaved; T4
- AE7 LINSEED OIL (LIN); T5 - irradiated AE7 LIN; T6 - AE7 autoclaved LIN; T7 - CR1 common
(CR1) - negative control (without oil). At the first and second deliveries females and litters were
evaluated for: weight at birth, weaning and the weight difference between birth and weaning;
feed intake and feed conversion, number of newborns, weight at birth and weaning, as well the
relation between the newborns weight and mother´s body mass. At the end of the experiment,
three animals from each test group were euthanized for anatomical pathology evaluation. There
were no statistical effect (P <0.05) of treatments on females weight at weaning, number of
newborns nor weight at birth. However, there was treatment effect on weight of female at the
second delivering, in which, except for the irradiated salmon and common linseed groups, all
females gained body mass between the first delivery and weaning of the second litter. Rodents
appear to be more metabolic efficient by using carbohydrate sources than lipids, once the
rations were formulated with the same raw materials except for oil sources. In the pathological
evaluation, there were no significant macroscopic alterations, such as infiltrates or hepatic
steatosis. Thus it was evident that NIH outbred mice did not have reproductive
performance influenced by diets with different sources of essential fatty acids. So, both
of them can be used, Depending only on the best cost-benefit ratio inherent to the
laboratory mice feed production.

Keywords: Fatty Acid, Laboratory Animal, Rodent, Animal Nutrition