Dietary intervention is a well-recognised approach to modifying milk yield and physicochemical characteristics. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of supplementing ewes' diet with tannin and/or linseed oil on the physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid profile of milk, as well as the antioxidant status of dairy ewes. The study involved 36 3-year-old lactating Moghani sheep randomly assigned to six treatment groups. Results demonstrated that tannin extract and linseed oil changed the fatty acid content of milk. In particular, unsaturated fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid were increased by the treatments (P < 0.05). Generally, groups receiving tannin extracts and/ or oil showed higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids in their milk, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids including C18:3n3, C20:2, C20:3n3, C20:4n6, CLA cis-9 trans-11, CLA trans-10 cis-12, C22:2 and total unsaturated fatty acids.

No abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of tannin extract and n-3 fatty acid supplementation on nutrient digestibility, ruminal parameters, blood metabolites, and enzyme activity in lactating ewes. Thirty-six lactating ewes were allocated to 6 experimental groups. The dietary treatments were as follows: 1) control, 2) diet supplemented with 2% dry matter (DM) oak leaf tannin extract, 3) diet supplemented with 2% DM grape pomace tannin extract, 4) diet supplemented with 2% DM linseed oil, 5) diet supplemented with 2% DM oak leaf tannin extract and 2% DM linseed oil, and 6) diet supplemented with 2% DM grape pomace tannin extract and 2% DM linseed oil. The results showed the significant effects of treatments on final body weight, digestibility, and some blood metabolites (P < 0.05). Therefore, the treatment groups had higher final body weight, better nutrient digestibility, and higher values of blood parameters. In conclusion, our results showed that the dietary tannin extract and the n-3 fatty acid source improved nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites, and they had a trend of improving the ruminal volatile fatty acid profile while not having any adverse effects on the animals' performance.