Effects of PUFA-Rich Dietary Strategies on Ruminants’ Mammary Gland Gene Network: A Nutrigenomics Review

Abstract

Although the inclusion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in ruminants’ diets appears to be a well-documented strategy to enrich milk with PUFAs, several gene networks that regulate milk synthesis and mammary gland homeostasis could be impaired. The objective of this literature review is to assess the effects of nutritional strategies focused on enriching milk with PUFAs on gene networks regulating mammary gland function and lipogenesis, as well as the impact of feed additives and bioactive compounds with prominent antioxidant potential on immune-oxidative transcriptional profiling, as a part of mammary gland homeostasis and health. The findings support the conclusion that PUFAs’ inclusion in ruminants’ diets more strongly downregulate the stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) gene compared to other key genes involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis in the mammary gland. Additionally, it was revealed that seed oils rich in linoleic and linolenic acids have no such strong impact on networks that regulate lipogenic homeostasis compared to marine oils rich in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. Furthermore, ample evidence supports that cows and sheep are more prone to the suppression of lipogenesis pathways compared to goats under the impact of dietary marine PUFAs. On the other hand, the inclusion of feed additives and bioactive compounds with prominent antioxidant potential in ruminants’ diets can strengthen mammary gland immune-oxidative status. Considering that PUFA’s high propensity to oxidation can induce a cascade of pro-oxidant incidences, the simultaneous supplementation of antioxidant compounds and especially polyphenols may alleviate any side effects caused by PUFA overload in the mammary gland. In conclusion, future studies should deeply investigate the effects of PUFAs on mammary gland gene networks in an effort to holistically understand their impact on both milk fat depression syndrome and homeostatic disturbance.

Influence of Dietary Lipid Source Supplementation on Milk and Fresh Cheese from Murciano-Granadina Goats

“…As shown in Table 2, the supplementation of goat diets with fats with a higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acid had no effect on the physicochemical parameters of the resulting milk. In goat milk, unlike in cow milk, there is no decrease in the milk protein and fat content when the goat diet is supplemented with PUFA-rich vegetable oils, which can partially be explained by the fact that the inhibition of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and de novo lipogenesis is less strong in the goat mammary gland [26]. However, significant differences were observed in the dry matter content of the milk, which was lower in the milk from animals receiving the SO diet than in the corresponding milk from FL diet, in agreement with studies carried out in goats [27] and in ewes fed diets supplemented with fish oil [28]; one possible explanation may be the hypophagic effect of long-chain PUFA from fish oil [9,29].…”