Effect of using flaxseed as omega-3 source on mammary gland growth and development gene expression in Saanen goat at their first pregnancy and lactation

In order to investigate the effect of flaxseed consumption as a source of omega-3 fatty acids on the expression of genes effective in mammary gland tissue development in primiparous Sanan goats, 30 does (young female goats) in the second half of their first pregnancy were selected and divided into three groups of 10 based on their average initial live weight . One group received a diet without any fat source (negative control), the second group received a diet containing palm saturated fat (positive control) and the third group received extruded flaxseed (flax) as a source of omega-3. The diets of all three groups were adjusted according to the requirements of NRC 2007 dairy goats. Experimental groups received nutritional treatments from the last 2 months of pregnancy up to  4 months after parturition. During the experimental period, milk production was recorded weekly for each animal and mammary gland tissue sampling was performed three times, 24 to 36 hours after parturition, two and four months after parturition were performed to investigation the expression of IGF- 1, IGFBP3 and IGFBP5 genes. The results of this study showed that there was no significant difference among the treatments in terms of expression of the studied genes. Also, the interaction between treatment and time was not significant for any of the above genes and only the effect of time was significant for IGFBP-3 gene (P <0.05).