Use Of Omega 3 Fatty Acids By Lactating Dairy Cows PDF Download

A considerable amount of evidence has accumulated in supporting the view that conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids (FA) have beneficial health properties and that the consumption levels of these FA is insufficient in most western diets. In view of their benefits, there has been a considerable interest in enhancing milk and dairy food products with these beneficial FA. The objective of the first trial was to determine the effect of supplementing grazing dairy cows' diet with fish oil (FO) and linseed oil (LSO) on milk c9, t11 CLA and omega-3 FA. Sixteen Holstein cows (170 ± 19 DIM) were divided into 2 groups (n=8 per treatment) and fed a basal diet (8 kg/d; DM basis) consisting of corn, soybean meal, molasses, vitamin/mineral premix plus 800 g saturated animal fat (CONT) or a basal diet plus 200 g FO and 600 g LSO (FOLSO). All cows grazed together on Sudan grass pasture for ad libitum and were fed the treatment diets for 3 wks. Cows were milked twice a day and milk samples were collected during the last three days of the trial. Milk production (24.89 and 22.45 kg/d), milk protein percentages (2.76 and 2.82) and milk protein yield (0.68 and 0.64 kg/d) for the CONT and FOLSO diets, respectively, were not affected ( P > 0.05) by treatment diets. Milk fat percentages (3.90 and 2.86) and milk fat yields (0.97 and 0.64 kg/d) were lower ( P