Fatty acid profile in two berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) cultivars: Preliminary study of the effect of part of plant and phenological stage

Abstract

Grazing animals have diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), in particular α‐linolenic acid (C18:3n‐3), so pasture is the richest and most environmentally sustainable source of unsaturated fatty acids for animal products. The concentration of PUFA in forages varies with species, cultivar, phenological stage, silage making technique, regrowth interval, nitrogen fertilization level and other management factors. An experiment was carried out by a randomized block design with three replicates, to study the influence of part of plant and phenological stage on the fatty acid profile of two widespread berseem clover cultivars (Trifolium alexandrinum L. ‘Sacromonte’ and ‘Marmilla’). In the present study, ‘Sacromonte’ showed a higher proportion of leaves (94 vs 85% on a dry matter yield [DM] basis; P < 0.05) and lower proportion of stems (6 vs 15% on a DM basis; P < 0.05) if compared with ‘Marmilla’ during the vegetative stage. Leaves were characterized by higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (0.50 vs 0.23 mg g−1 DM) and PUFA (10.33 vs 3.84 mg g−1 DM) if compared to stems (P < 0.01) in both cultivars. Total unsaturated fatty acids represent 10.83 and 4.04 mg g−1 DM in leaves and stems, respectively (P < 0.01). No influence of phenological stage in different parts of plant was detected in terms of total unsaturated fatty acid and PUFA. These results are the first to point out the change of fatty acids profile in different parts of berseem clover plant during the vegetative and reproductive stages, but need to be confirmed in a long‐term study.

Chemical composition and fatty acid profile of BRS Capiaçu ensiled at different regrowth ages

“…These latter authors showed that chloroplast- rich fractions extracted from green leaf tissues of the tropical grass Paspalum notatum presented 302 and 304 g kg -1 DM of protein and lipids. Therefore, in several studies, positive relationships between CP or N versus total FA contents were also observed (Boufaïed et al, 2003;Glasser et al, 2013;Cabiddu et al, 2017;Goossen et al, 2018).…”

“…36-2.90, 7.29-13.81, and 14.25-22.93 g kg -1 DM, respectively, were much higher than those obtained in the present study. The use of the elephant grass Mott cultivar, which has a high leaf:stem ratio, may be a possible explanation for this superiority, since according to Cabiddu et al (2017) and Goossen, Kraft and Bosworth (2018), leaves have higher contents of total FAs than stems.…”

“…For each increment of 1 g kg -1 DM of CP, ADF and lignin in chopped grass, changes of +0.077, -0.031 and -0.075; +0.014, -0.006 and -0.013; and +0.029, -0.012 and -0.028, respectively, in the total FA, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid contents (g kg -1 DM) were observed in chopped grass (P<0.05). Stems have higher contents of NDF, ADF and lignin, while leaves are richer in CP, total FAs, linoleic and α-linolenic acids (Cabiddu et al, 2017). Therefore, the close relationship between CP and the total FA content can be explained, at least in part, by these nutrients being primarily located in the leaves (photosynthetic organs) rather than in stems (Glasser et al, 2013).…”

Can FT-Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy of Milk Samples Discriminate Different Dietary Regimens of Sheep Grazing With Restricted Access Time?

“…In particular, the average intake of grass on the AT 2 h/day was 648 g DM (35% of total intake), with the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) level of 493 g/kg DM and a crude protein (CP) level of 119 g/kg DM on day 7 ( 3 ), whereas on the legume with AT of 6 h/day, the average intake was 1,723 g DM (62% of total intake), with the NDF level of 328 g/kg DM and CP level of 231 g/kg DM on day 1 ( 4 ). We can reasonably argue that this wide range of nutrient composition was mirrored by an even wider range of FA intake, since berseem clover has usually higher content of long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) than the Italian ryegrass, according to our laboratory data ( 19 , 20 ). Although the grazed forage had a major impact on FA profile, since the supplementation changed between experiments, we cannot rule out that the different types of supplements can have an impact on the results obtained.…”

“…It is well-known that leaves contain more LCFA than stems, as observed in berseem clover by Cabiddu et al ( 20 ). This can suggest a higher intake of LCFA on the 1st day than on the last grazing day of the grazing periods throughout the experiments.…”