Perfil metabólico de ovelhas gestantes recebendo fontes lipídicas com diferentes sítios de degradação

The objective was to evaluate the effect of including fat sources with different digestion sites on the metabolic profile of pregnant sheep. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Uberlândia, at the experimental farm Capim Branco, from August to November 2015, in a experimental period of 90 days. Twenty-four pregnant ewes with an average body weight of 50.8±0.7 kg and approximate 12±1 months old were used. The animals were allocated into three treatments: Control, Nutrigordura® and Cottonseed. Corn silage was used as the roughage, and the roughage:concentrate ratio was 60:40 (dry matter). Blood samples were taken to determine protein, energetic and hepatic metabolites every 15 days and the analyzes of betahydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration were performed at 120, 135 and 140 days of pregnancy. The experimental design was completely randomized with repeated measures in time. Statistical difference was shown in the metabolic energetic profile of the sheep between the treatments for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and betahydroxybutyrate (BHB) in the prepartum. It was found an interaction between treatment and period for cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). There were no significant differences for hepatic metabolites related to treatments, only for periods. Referring to protein metabolism, there was an interaction for the uric acid variable. Fat supplementation with different degradation profiles was efficient in maintaining the energetic, hepatic and protein metabolism, changing the blood concentration of some metabolites during the middle and final thirds of pregnancy.