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Supplementing Grazing Dairy Ewes with Plant‐Derived Oil and Rumen‐Protected EPA+DHA Pellets Enhances Health‐Beneficial n−3 Long‐Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Sheep Milk
Author(s) -
Nguyen Quang V.,
Le Van H.,
Nguyen Don V.,
MalauAduli Bunmi S.,
Nichols Peter D.,
MalauAduli Aduli E. O.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of lipid science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.614
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1438-9312
pISSN - 1438-7697
DOI - 10.1002/ejlt.201700256
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , eicosapentaenoic acid , food science , fish oil , docosahexaenoic acid , linseed oil , chemistry , fatty acid , rumen , zoology , grazing , lactation , pellets , biology , agronomy , biochemistry , pregnancy , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , fermentation , paleontology , genetics
This study investigates the impact of supplementing dairy ewes in mid lactation with rumen‐protected (RPO) pellets containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n−3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n−3) or pellets infused with 50 mL kg −1 DM of either canola (CO), rice bran (RBO), flaxseed (FSO), or safflower (SFO) oils on enhancing the concentration of n−3 long‐chain (≥C 20 ) polyunsaturated fatty acids (n−3 LC‐PUFA) in milk. It is hypothesized that including these oils in the diet of grazing dairy ewes will improve milk fatty acid (FA) composition by increasing levels of n−3 LC‐PUFA. Sixty grazing dairy ewes balanced by sire breed and parity are randomly allocated to one of 6 treatments: 1) Control: commercial pellets without oil inclusion; 2) pellets containing 50 mL kg −1 DM of CO; 3) RBO; 4) FSO; 5) SFO; and 6) RPO at the rate of 1 kg day −1 for each ewe for 8 weeks. Weekly bulked daily milk FA analysis shows RPO has the most efficiency at elevating n−3 LC‐PUFA content by twofold, threefold, and fivefold greater concentrations of EPA, DPA, and DHA, respectively, than the control (0.17 vs 0.08%, 0.23 vs 0.08%, 0.19 vs 0.04%) ( P < 0.0001). FSO improves levels of EPA (0.11%) and DPA (0.15%), while CO increases DPA (0.13%) ( P < 0.0001). FSO and RPO reached the “source” and good “source” of n−3 LC‐PUFA (ΣEPA + DHA + DPA) contents of 35.1 and 61.7 mg 250 mL −1 , respectively. These findings recommend that rumen protected pellets containing EPA + DHA, flaxseed, and potentially canola oil supplements, can be used to improve the content of n−3 LC‐PUFA in dairy ewe milk. Practical Applications : The results promote the potential for production of premium quality and health‐beneficial fresh milk through dietary supplementation of grazing dairy ewes with plant‐derived oil and rumen‐protected EPA + DHA. Interactions between supplemented diets and week of supplementation on the concentrations of LA (a), ALA (b), EPA (c), DHA (d), and DPA (e) in milk.