Effect of feeding system on unsaturated fatty acid level in milk of dairy cows

Abstract

In recent years, consumer attitudes toward fat of animal origin have changed owing to findings that some milk fatty acids (FAs) are positive for human health, especially conjugated linolenic acid and n-3 FAs. Accordingly, the manipulation of the fat content and FA composition of cows’ milk via nutritional strategies has been an important target for the dairy industry in many countries. Twenty commercial Holstein–Friesian dairy herds of Asturias (northern Spain) with 1106 dairy cows were examined in order to evaluate milk FA profiles under different management systems. These herds were divided into three groups according to management: (1) indoor herds: cows feeding indoors, (2) mixed herds: indoor management system but with at least 6 h of grazing outdoors and (3) outdoor herds: cows allowed 6–18 h of grazing per day. Milk from the indoor herds exhibited the highest concentration of fat (3.57%; P⩽0.01), protein (3.14%; P⩽0.001), lactose (4.76%; P⩽0.01) and urea (29.4 mg dl−1; P⩽0.01). The milk of outdoor herds had a lower (P⩽0.05) content of short-chain FAs than that of the indoor and mixed herds (10.89 versus 11.52 and 11.35 g 100 g−1 FA). The milk of the indoor herds had higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (67.56 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) and palmitic and palmitoleic acids (30.16 and 1.82 g 100 g−1 FA, respectively), while that of the mixed and outdoors herds had higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) (34.58 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) and long-chain FAs, especially stearic (13.89 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.01), vaccenic (2.77 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001), conjugated linoleic (0.92 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) and linolenic (0.42 g 100 g−1 FA; P⩽0.001) acids. Results from this study suggest that the incorporation of forage and pasture in the diet of dairy cows can improve the FA profile of milk.

Effect of total mixed ration composition and daily grazing pattern on milk production, composition and fatty acids profile of dairy cows

“…It could help to produce high yields of milk enhancing protein and fat contents (Morales-Almaráz et al 2010), and save feeding costs (Vibart et al 2008). Grazing cows produce milk with a fatty acid (FA) profile more favourable to human health, with higher proportions of CLA and 18:3 n -3 (Stockdale et al 2003; Bargo et al 2006; Dewhurst et al 2006; Morales-Almaráz et al 2011), which have health benefits for consumers (Belury, 2002). Similar results have been reported in cows feeding fresh cut forage (Ferlay et al 2006; Auldist et al 2013) and feeding fish and plant oils (AbuGhazaleh et al 2007).…”

Caracterización de los actuales modelos de alimentación para la producción de leche de vaca en Asturias y su influencia sobre la producción de la leche

“…Quizás esto se produce en nuestro estudio porque, aunque el modelo P aportó un 32,8% de concentrado y el modelo C un 48,3%, ambos tienen una proporción similar de FND. En contras te, algunos autores han encontra do incrementos en el contenido de grasa en leche en el caso de vacas estabuladas (Morales-Almaráz et al, 2011;Capuano et al, 2014;Mitani et al, 2016).…”

The Mode of Grass Supply to Dairy Cows Impacts on Fatty Acid and Antioxidant Profile of Milk

“…Factors related to nutrition, feeding and management of dairy herds can produce changes in the short term [ 5 ]. Many studies show that milk produced from grazing systems has different characteristics in its components than milk produced from confinement systems [ 6 , 7 ]. Fresh forages are important natural source of antioxidants, vitamins and fatty acids in ruminant diets, and their concentrations in forage have an important relationship to the resultant composition and quality of milk and dairy products [ 8 ].…”