A comparison between Holstein-Friesian and Jersey dairy cows and their F1 hybrid on milk fatty acid composition under grazing conditions

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of 2 breeds, Holstein and Jersey, and their F(1) hybrid (Jersey x Holstein) on milk fatty acid (FA) concentrations under grazing conditions, especially conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids because of their importance to human health. Eighty-one cows (27 per breed grouping) were allocated a predominantly perennial ryegrass pasture. Samples were collected over 2 periods (June and July). Breed affected dry matter intake and milk production and composition. Holstein cows had the highest dry matter intake (18.4+/-0.40kg of DM/d) and milk production (21.1+/-0.53kg of DM/d). Holstein and Jersey x Holstein cows had similar 4% fat corrected milk, fat yield, and protein yield; with the exception of fat yield, these were all higher than for Jersey cows. Milk fat concentration was highest for Jersey cows and lowest for Holstein cows, with the hybrid cows intermediate. Total FA and linolenic acid intake (1.09+/-0.023 and 0.58+/-0.012 kg/d, respectively) were highest for Holstein cows. In terms of milk FA, Holstein cows had higher contents of C14:1, cis-9 C18:1 and linoleic acid. In turn, Jersey and Jersey x Holstein cows had higher content of C16:0. Milk concentrations of neither the cis-9,trans-11 isomer of CLA nor its precursor, vaccenic acid, were affected by breed. Nevertheless, large variation between individual animals within breed grouping was observed for CLA and estimated Delta(9)-desaturase activity. There was some evidence for a negative heterotic effect on milk concentration of CLA, with the F(1) hybrid cows having lower concentrations compared with the mid parent average. Plasma FA profile did not accurately reflect differences in milk FA composition. In conclusion, there was little evidence for either breed or beneficial heterotic effects on milk FA content with human health-promoting potential, though significant within-breed, interanimal variation was observed.

Fatty acid profile and health lipid indices in the raw milk of Simmental and Holstein-Friesian cows from an organic farm

“…Differences in the FA composition have been reported in the milk of HF and Jersey cows (Beaulieu & Palmquist,1995;Drackey et al, 2001;White et al, 2001;Kliem et al, 2009;Palladino et al, 2010;Nantapo et al, 2014), Holstein and Brown Swiss cows (Kelsey et al, 2003;Moore et al, 2005;Kuczyńska et al, 2011), Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss cows (DePeters et al, 1995;Carroll et al, 2006), Holstein and Czech Pied cows (Pešek et al, 2005), Tarentaise and Montbéliarde cows (Ferlay et al, 2006), Montbéliarde, Irish Holstein/Friesian, Dutch Holstein/Friesian, and Normande cows (Lawless et al, 1999), Danish Holstein, Danish Jersey and Swedish Red cows (Poulsen et al, 2012), as well as HF, Meuse-Rhine-Yssel, Dutch Friesian, Groningen White Headed and Jersey cows (Maurice-Van Eijndhoven et al, 2013).…”

“…Milk fat of Jerseys had the highest concentration of C18:0 and the lowest concentration of C18:1. Some studies have shown a higher concentration of 16:0 for milk from Jersey than from Holstein cows (Drackey et al, 2001, Palladino et al, 2010, but others reported opposite results (White et al, 2001). According to Lawless et al (1999), Normande and Montbéliarde cows produce milk fat with the highest proportions of C18:0.…”

“…The proportions of each fatty acid (FA) that is produced determine the lipid fraction's health impact (Muchenje et al, 2009;Palladino et al, 2010;Nantapo et al, 2014). Recent studies have linked the whole lipid content to the emergence of chronic disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (Williams, 2000).…”

“…Also, a significant part of the variability in FA composition is genetically determined (Beaulieu & Palmquist, 1995;Stoop et al, 2008;Maurice-Van Eijndhoven et al, 2011). More recently, researchers have addressed again the issue of breed and genotypic effects on milk FA composition (Drackley et al, 2001;Carroll et al, 2006;Palladino et al, 2010;Maurice-Van Eijndhoven et al, 2011;Nantapo et al, 2014), in part because of the concern regarding human consumption of saturated lipid in dairy products and their association with cardiovascular disease (Lichtenstein, 2003).…”

“…Two breeds, Holstein (Friesian) and Jersey, have been tested most frequently (Morales et al, 2000;White et al, 2001;Palladino et al, 2010;Nantapo et al, 2014). Nevertheless, inter-breed differences in the milk fat composition were reported in other breeds, such as Brown Swiss, Montbéliarde, Belgian Blue, Tarentaise, Normande and Swedish Red (Lawless et al, 1999;Kelsey et al, 2003;Soyeurt et al, 2006;Ferlay et al, 2006;Poulsen et al, 2012), particularly in comparison with the Holstein.…”