Fatty Acid Composition of Traditional and Novel Forages

Abstract

Managing the fatty acid composition of grazing ruminant diets could lead to meat and milk products that have higher conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentrations, but forage fatty acid dynamics must be more fully understood for a range of forages before grazing systems can be specified. The fatty acid profiles of 13 different forages, including grasses, legumes, and forbs, grown under greenhouse conditions, were determined. Three separate harvests, at 3-week intervals, were made of each plant material. alpha-Linolenic [C18:3, 7.0-38.4 mg g(-1) of dry matter (DM)], linoleic (C18:2, 2.0-10.3 mg g(-1) of DM), and palmitic (C16:0, 2.6-7.5 mg g(-1) of DM) acids were the most abundant fatty acids in all species at each harvest, together representing approximately 93% of the fatty acids present. Concentrations of fatty acids declined as plants developed, but the fractional contribution of each fatty acid to total fatty acids remained relatively stable over time. Grasses had a uniform composition across species with a mean of 66% of total fatty acids provided by C18:3, 13% by C18:2, and 14% by C16:0. The fractional contribution of C18:3 to total fatty acids was lower and more variable in forbs than in grasses. Intake of fatty acid by grazing ruminants would be affected by the forage species consumed.

Effects of forage silage species on yearling growth performance, carcass and meat quality, and nutrient composition in a forage based beef production system

“…Lee et al (2003Lee et al ( , 2009, where red clover silage in British studies contained less alpha linolenic acid as a percentage of total fatty acids. Fatty acid composition of tall fescue silage in the present study (Table 8) is similar to that in past studies evaluating fresh cut tall fescue (Clapham et al 2005) or tall fescue pasture (Noviandi et al 2012b). Red cloverÁtimothy silage in the present study contained more (P 50.001) palmitic (C16:0) and linoleic (C18:2) and less (P B0.001) linolenic acid (C18:3n3) than tall fescue silage (Table 8).…”

Stability, fatty acid composition and sensory properties of the M. Longissimus muscle from beef steers grazing either chicory/ryegrass or ryegrass

“…In general, differences in the fatty acid ratios in meat are most apparent in studies comparing contrasting forage-based diets against concentrate-based diets (Warren et al, 2008b) and could be one explanation as to why there was no differences in the current study, particularly as the n-6:n-3 ratio was as low as 1.05 for the control, with below 3 being typical for beef (Scollan et al, 2006). That stated, fatty acid profiles have been shown to differ among forages, with chicory reported as having higher concentrations of C18 : 3 when compared with grasses (including ryegrass), plantain, turnips, rape, triticale and borage (Clapham et al, 2005). In contrast to the current study, other research found that grazing beef steers on chicory increased the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids in the meat when compared with steers grazing bermudagrass, cowpea or lucerne but not those grazing pearl millet (Schmidt et al, 2013).…”

“…In relation to the healthiness of meat, the industry is largely concerned with the total amount of fat and its fatty acid composition, aiming to produce meat with a higher ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to saturated fatty acids and the optimal ratio of n-6 and n-3 PUFA (Wood et al, 2004). Fatty acid profiles have been shown to differ among forages, with chicory reported as having a different profile and a higher total concentration of PUFA (C18 : 3n-3) than other forages including ryegrass (Clapham et al, 2005). In the experiment by Schmidt et al (2013), chicory increased the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA in the meat of grazing steers when compared with steers grazing bermudagrass, cowpea or lucerne, suggesting that including chicory in the diet of grazing ruminants would alter the total fatty acid concentration and composition of their meat.…”

Meat quality and fatty acid profile of the musculus longissimus lumborum in Czech Fleckvieh, Charolais and Charolais × Czech Fleckvieh bulls fed different types of silages

“…Forages thus represent one of the main sources of C18:3n-3 in ruminant diets (Dewhurst et al, 2003;Clapham et al, 2005). In our study, replacing maize silage with legume-cereal mixture and lucerne silages considerably increased the dietary intake of C18:3n-3.…”