Forty-eight Duroc-cross gilts (40 kg initial
BW) were fed a control or a linseed diet containing
60 g of whole crushed linseed/kg. Both diets were supplemented
with 150 mg of vitamin E/kg. Eight pigs
from each dietary treatment were slaughtered at 20,
60, or 100 d after the start of the experiment. There
was no effect (P > 0.05) of diet on growth, carcass characteristics,
or foreloin tissue composition. Feeding the linseed
diet increased (P < 0.05) the content of n-3 PUFA
in plasma, muscle, and adipose tissue, but docosahexaenoic
acid was not (P > 0.05) altered by diet. The proportions
of n-3 PUFA were highest (P < 0.01) in pigs fed
the linseed-diet for 60 d, regardless of tissue (plasma,
muscle, or adipose tissue) or lipid (neutral lipids and
phospholipids) class. The linseed diet produced a
PUFA:saturated fatty acid ratio ≥0.4 in all groups and