Fatty acid composition of sow's colostrum, milk and body fat as determined by gas-liquid chromatography

Summary As determined by gas-liquid chromatography, the mean fatty acid composition (weight percentages of total fatty acids) of milk fat from sows fed a diet to meet U.S. N.R.C. nutrient requirements was: oleic, 35·3; palmitic, 30·3; linoleic, 13·0; palmitoleic, 9·9; stearic, 4·0; myristic, 3·3; linolenic, 2·5; unidentified 0·7 and 0·5, presumably n-odd chain and branched fatty acids; lauric, 0·3; and capric, 0·2. The corresponding fatty acid composition of colostrum fat was: oleic, 41·7; palmitic, 22·5; linoleic, 20·9; palmitoleic, 5·0; stearic, 5·7; myristic, 1·4; linolenic, 2·4; and unidentified acids, 0·3 and 0·1. Dietary fat increased fat levels in the milk and influenced fatty acid composition of the milk fat. Backfat resembled colostrum fat more than milk fat.