Effect of Dietary Fish Oil on Mammary Gland Development and Milk Production of Holstein Cow

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding oil supplement on mammary gland development and milk production responses in Holstein cows. Ten multiparous Holstein cows (42.2±9.2 d before calving, 3.25±0.25 body condition score, and 620±35 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to treatments. Treatments were a diet with oil added as palm oil (PO; n=5), or fish oil (FO; n=5) given to cows until 63 d in milk. Milk yield was recorded daily, milk composition (fat, protein, lactose, total solid and somatic cell count) was measured weekly and fatty acid profiles of milk fat were determined at first and last week of the experiment. Samples of mammary tissue were obtained at 7 and 63 d in milk by biopsy gun. Tissue slides were analyzed by Image J software. Results showed that fish oil supplemented diet compared to the palm oil supplemented diet increased milk production after 6 weeks of lactation (P<0.05), content of polyunsaturated fatty acids milk fat (P<0.05) and docosahexaenoic acid (P<0.01). Moreover, n-6:n-3 ratio was decreased by fish oil supplement (P<0.05). Histological studies showed that FO increased the relative percentage of tissue area occupied by epithelial cells as well as a number of total alveoli in each microscopic field (P<0.05). Data suggested that feeding fish oil during the dry period and early lactation could improve development and function of the mammary gland in the dairy cow.

Effect of Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil as Natural Feed Supplement on the Productive Performance of Lactating Ewes

“…Moreover, MSO with more than 70% unsaturated fatty acid contents, can be used as an effective tool to alter fatty acid profiles of milk and meat by reducing saturated and trans fatty acids while increasing unsaturated fatty acids. Results of supplementation of MSO on milk production observed in this study are in agreement with earlier studies which used fish oil (Whitlock et al, 2006;Heravi et al, 2007;and Barfourooshi et al, 2018), rapeseed and linseed oil (Majewska et al, 2017) as a fat supplements. Other studies have not reported any effect of fish oil on milk production.…”

“…Normally, different oils are supplemented to manipulate fermentation kinetics, and microbial populations in rumen to improve performance while reducing methane production (Huws et al, 2015 andEnjalbert et al, 2017), enhancing meat and milk fatty acids profiles (Steinfeld et al, 2006;Shingfield et al, 2013 andGawad et al, 2015a), increased efficiency of feed utilization (Myer et al, 2015 andYoshimura et al, 2018), and enhancing health and welfare (Nagaraja and Titgemeyer, 2007). Different sources of dietary fat are used (vegetable oils, marine oils) in different forms (protected or unprotected forms) for supplementation (Ashes et al, 1992;Gawad et al, 2015b;Palmiqust andJinkens, 2017 andBarfourooshi et al, 2018). One of the emerging sources of vegetable oils is Moringa oleifera seed oil.…”

Multi‐attribute decision‐making: Use of scoring methods to choose the best form of dietary fat supplement in pregnant Saanen goats

“…Javaheri Barfourooshi et al. (2018) reported similar results that fish oil in a dry Holstein cow's diet yielded similar results on the mammary gland tissue. Based on the histological results, it seems that consuming diets containing extruded flaxseed or soybean, which are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, promotes the growth and development of the epithelial parts of the mammary gland.…”

“…Data were used to analyse decisions resulting from our previous study (Javaheri Barfourooshi et al, 2020Barfourooshi et al, , 2021Javaheri Barfourooshi et al, 2023). In brief, 40 Saanen does were randomly assigned to 4 groups and received these diets from the last 2 months of their first pregnancy until 4 months of lactation: CT, no added fat (negative control group); PO, added saturated palm oil (positive control group); SB, added roasted soybeans (omega-6 group) and FS, added extruded flaxseed (omega-3 group).…”

“…Therefore, the use of these functional components in a critical stage of growth and development of the mammary gland can have an impact on future milk production. According to our previous study, the integration of fish oil to dry cattle diets resulted in an improvement in milk production and composition (Javaheri Barfourooshi et al., 2018). Our study has revealed that the inclusion of fat supplements that are rich in omega‐3 and omega‐6 fatty acids in the diet of pregnant and lactating goats can significantly improve the quality and quantity of their milk production.…”