Significance of the Synthesis of Essential Fatty Acids in Swine

In a study with 29 5-week-old Yorkshire pigs, researchers found that pigs fed a fat-free diet for 28 days did not show significant differences in weight gain compared to those fed a normal diet with corn oil, and no skin lesions or alopecia were observed. However, the fat-free diet resulted in lower body dry matter and ether extract, and altered fatty acid concentrations, with higher palmitoleic and oleic acids and lower linoleic acid, despite synthesizing an average of 7 grams of linoleic acid. The study concluded that pigs can synthesize some linoleic acid and not all essential fatty acids are required in the diet for growth and maintenance.