Linseed, a source of linolenic acid, is used in ruminant diets to increase polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) in animal products. Seed processing is known to have an impact on FA rumen metabolism, but few data are available for linseed. We studied the effect of linseed lipid on ruminal metabolism and intestinal digestibility in cows. Three modes of linseed processing: rolled linseed (RL), extruded linseed (EL) and linseed oil plus linseed meal (LO), supplemented at 7.5% of DM intake, were compared to a control diet (C). Duodenal flows, intestinal digestibility and plasma composition were determined. The duodenal flow of linolenic acid was similar among diets. The sum of t10 and t11-18:1, which were coeluted, was increased with lipid-supplemented diets and represented more than 60% of trans 18:1 for EL and LO diets. The main 18:2 isomers were c9, c12 and t11, c15 among the non-conjugated isomers, and t11, t13 among CLA. Linseed supplementation increased the duodenal flow of unsaturated intermediates of biohydrogenation, and this effect was more pronounced for extruded seeds and oil than for rolled seeds. For most 18-carbon FA, intestinal digestibility was slightly higher for C and LO diets than for RL and EL. Plasma concentrations of non-conjugated 18:2 and linolenic acid were similar among the lipid-supplemented diets. Within diet, profiles of 18:1 isomers (except c9) remained very similar between duodenal and plasma FA.

The efficiency with which ruminants convert feed to desirable products is difficult to measure under normal commercial settings. We explored the use of potential biological markers from easily obtainable samples, that is, blood, hair, and feces, to characterize potential causes of divergent efficiency when considered as residual feed intake (RFI) or feed conversion efficiency (FCE). A total of 54 Charolais bulls, 20 in period 1 and 34 in period 2, were examined for individual dry matter intake (DMI) and growth. Bulls were offered a diet of 70:30 wrapped grass silage to concentrate for 99 d. At the conclusion of the test period, blood samples were collected for the determination of vitamins B and B, and plasma used for the determination of metabolites, natural isotopic N abundance (N NIA, expressed as δN ‰) and fractionation (ΔN and ΔC) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Feces were analyzed by NIRS. Bulls were slaughtered at 15-17 months of age and carcass characteristics determined. Bulls were ranked according to RFI with extremes (SD ± 0.5; n = 31) classified as either efficient (Neg-RFI) or inefficient (Pos-RFI). Extreme bulls were then classified for FCE (high vs low FCE), changing the groups. Pos-RFI bulls consumed 14% more feed than Neg-RFI bulls for the same level of weight gain. Low FCE bulls tended to eat more, but had lower weight gains than high FCE bulls. No differences were detected in carcass conformation, fat scores, hot carcass weight, or dressing percentage. Yet, heart and bladder weights were heavier in Pos-RFI, and rumen weight tended to be heavier in Pos-RFI bulls. RFI did not affect bulk N orC fractionation. A negative correlation was observed between FCE and ΔN. Inefficient bulls (Pos-RFI) had higher δN in glycine compared to Neg-RFI bulls. Similarly, metabolomic analysis showed a tendency for concentrations of glycine and sarcosine to be elevated in Pos-RFI bulls, whereas aspartic acid and carnosine tended to be elevated, and serine tended to be lower in High FCE. Among vitamins, only flavin adenine dinucleotide concentration was higher in the blood of bulls with High FCE. These results suggest that the two feed efficiency metrics differ in the underlying mechanisms of metabolism, where RFI is driven by differences in the energetic requirements of visceral organs and the extent of AA catabolism.

In ruminants, cis and trans C18:1 isomers are intermediates of fatty acid transformations in the rumen and their relative amounts shape the nutritional quality of ruminant products. However, their exact synthetic pathways are unclear and their proportions change with the forage:concentrate ratio in ruminant diets. This study traced the metabolism of vaccenic acid, the main trans C18:1 isomer found in the rumen, through the incubation of labeled vaccenic acid with mixed ruminal microbes adapted to different diets. [1-(13)C]trans-11 C18:1 was added to in vitro cultures with ruminal fluids of sheep fed either a forage or a concentrate diet. (13)C enrichment in fatty acids was analyzed by gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry after 0, 5 and 24 h of incubation. (13)C enrichment was found in stearic acid and in all cis and trans C18:1 isomers. Amounts of (13)C found in fatty acids showed that 95% of vaccenic acid was saturated to stearic acid after 5 h of incubation with the concentrate diet, against 78% with the forage diet. We conclude that most vaccenic acid is saturated to stearic acid, but some is isomerized to all cis and trans C18:1 isomers, with probably more isomerization in sheep fed a forage diet.

Nutritional policies recommend that animal products should be made to contain more polyunsaturated FA, especially n‐3 FA. This means finding ways to limit ruminal lipolysis and/or biohydrogenation. In pursuit of this goal, we performed an in vitro study to test the ability of four feed additives, typically used for other purposes, to reduce ruminal biohydrogenation of a linolenic acid‐rich substrate. The four additives tested were cinnamon essential oil, brown algae (Ascophyllum nodosum), synthetic vitamin E, and garlic essential oil. The first three additives had no effect on ruminal fermentation and biohydrogenation. Garlic essential oil led to a decrease in methane production (P < 0.001), an increase in propionate (P = 0.002) and butyrate (P < 0.001) production at the expense of acetate (P < 0.001), and a decrease in biohydrogenation evaluated by the disappearance of linolenic acid (P = 0.083) and linoleic acid (P = 0.008). Stearic acid proportion in FA decreased, while biohydrogenation intermediates such as C18:2t11c15 and vaccenic acid proportion increased (P < 0.001). Practical applications: Garlic essential oil emerges as a promising additive for decreasing biohydrogenation, but its efficiency needs to be confirmed in vivo in different dietary conditions, and possible side effects of the incorporation of garlic oil in diets will have to be evaluated. When garlic oil is added to a control substrate in an incubator containing rumen contents, biohydrogenation of linolenic acid (18:3c9c12c15) is reduced, and proportion of different unsaturated FA increases at the expense of stearic acid (18:0) which decreases from 71.8 to 62.2%. If this is confirmed in vivo, this may contribute to reduce saturated FA in milk and meat from ruminants.