Milk from cows grazing on cool-season pastures provides an enhanced profile of bioactive fatty acids compared to those grazed on a monoculture of pearl millet

Melissa L Bainbridge; Emily Egolf; John W Barlow; Juan P Alvez; Joe Roman; Jana Kraft

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.08.134

Milk from cows grazing on cool-season pastures provides an enhanced profile of bioactive fatty acids compared to those grazed on a monoculture of pearl millet

Food Chem. 2017 Feb 15:217:750-755. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.08.134. Epub 2016 Sep 1.

Authors

Melissa L Bainbridge¹, Emily Egolf², John W Barlow³, Juan P Alvez⁴, Joe Roman⁵, Jana Kraft⁶

Affiliations

¹ The University of Vermont, Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 570 Main St., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: Melissa.Bainbridge@uvm.edu.
² The University of Vermont, Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 570 Main St., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: eegolf@vet.upenn.edu.
³ The University of Vermont, Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 570 Main St., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: John.Barlow@uvm.edu.
⁴ The University of Vermont, Center for Sustainable Agriculture, 23 Mansfield Ave., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: Juan.Alvez@uvm.edu.
⁵ The University of Vermont, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, 617 Main St., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: jroman@uvm.edu.
⁶ The University of Vermont, Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 570 Main St., Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: Jana.Kraft@uvm.edu.

PMID: 27664694
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.08.134

Abstract

The demand for dairy products from grass-fed cows is driven, in part, by their more desirable fatty acid (FA) profile, containing more n-3 FA and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) than conventionally produced dairy products. This study investigated the effects of pearl millet (PM) vs. cool-season pasture (CSP) on animal performance and milk FA in a grazing system. Eight Holstein dairy cows were used in a repeated measures design with four-week periods. Forage type had no effect on animal performance (estimated dry matter intake, milk production, fat, or protein). The contents of CLA and n-3 FA in a serving of whole milk (3.25% fat) increased when cows grazed CSP compared to PM. A serving of whole milk from cows grazing PM had a higher content of saturated FA and branched-chain FA. In conclusion, the contents of various bioactive FA were higher in milk fat of cows grazing a CSP compared to PM.

Keywords: Conjugated linoleic acids; Organic; Summer annuals; Warm-season grasses; n-3 fatty acids.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Animal Feed / analysis*
Animals
Cattle / metabolism*
Fatty Acids / chemistry*
Fatty Acids / metabolism
Female
Lactation
Linoleic Acids, Conjugated / metabolism
Milk / chemistry*
Milk / metabolism
Pennisetum / metabolism*
Seasons

Substances

Fatty Acids
Linoleic Acids, Conjugated