Annatto seeds as Antioxidants Source with Linseed Oil for Dairy Cows

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of annatto seeds, linseed oil and their combination on DMI, apparent total tract digestibility, antioxidant capacity and milk composition of dairy cows. Four lactating Holstein cows (120 ± 43 days in milk; 15.98 ± 2.02 kg of milk/day, mean ± SD) were allocated in a 4 × 4 Latin square with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement (with or without annatto seeds at 15 g/kg of dry matter (DM); with or without linseed oil at 30 g/kg of DM) and provided four different diets: control (no annatto seeds or linseed oil); annatto seeds (15 g/kg of DM); linseed oil (30 g/kg of DM); and a combination of both annatto seeds and linseed oil. Annatto seeds reduced DM intake, and milk yield, protein and lactose, but increased content of fat, total solids and short chain fatty acid, with no effect on total antioxidant capacity of milk. Linseed oil supplementation decreased medium chain fatty acid proportion and n-6/n-3 ratio, conversely it increased long chain fatty acids and n-3 fatty acid content of milk, ether extract intake and total-tract digestibility. Thus, linseed oil supplementation in dairy cow diets improved the milk FA profile but decreased milk fat concentration, whereas annatto seeds did not influence antioxidant capacity and depressed feed intake and milk yield.

The Effects of Feeding Milled Rapeseed Seeds with Different Forage:Concentrate Ratios in Jersey Dairy Cows on Milk Production, Milk Fatty Acid Composition, and Milk Antioxidant Capacity

“…Lipid oxidation is an inevitable process in which the double bonds of UFAs are attacked by oxidizing compounds, leading to the degradation of milk [ 12 , 68 ]. Although several authors have shown that milk becomes more susceptible to oxidation when the UFAs content increases, Salles et al [ 68 ] concluded that the oxidative stability of milk is more dependent on the antioxidant content than on the UFAs concentration of fat.…”

“…Unlike other oleaginous seeds, rapeseed seeds are very resistant to degradation both in the rumen and in the small intestine of cows [ 12 ], and therefore their processing is necessary. Thus, the rape seeds were ground separately with a hammer mill equipped with a 2.8 kw motor and a 661 × 67 mm sieve with 2 mm hole diameters.…”

“…Previous research demonstrated that supplementing cow diets with vegetable oils led to an increase in n-3 FAs and CLA concentration in milk fat [ 7 , 11 ]. Oils rich in linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 n-6; e.g., sunflower oil) were more effective in increasing CLA in milk fat than oils rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3 n-3; e.g., linseed oil), which was more effective in increasing n-3 FAs in milk fat [ 3 , 12 ]. Only a limited number of studies have examined how oils which are OA-rich (oleic acid, C18:1 cis -9) (e.g., rapeseed oil) affect lactation performance, the FAs content of milk [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], and enteric methane emissions in dairy cows [ 16 , 17 ].…”