Influence of Sunflower Whole Seeds or Oil on Ruminal Fermentation, Milk Production, Composition, and Fatty Acid Profile in Lactating Goats

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of sunflower seeds, either as whole or as oil, on rumen fermentation, milk production, milk composition and fatty acids profile in dairy goats. Fifteen lactating Damascus goats were divided randomly into three groups (n = 5) fed a basal diet of concentrate feed mixture and fresh Trifolium alexandrinum at 50:50 on dry matter basis (Control) in addition to 50 g/head/d sunflower seeds whole (SS) or 20 mL/head/d sunflower seeds oil (SO) in a complete randomized design. Milk was sampled every two weeks during 90 days of experimental period for chemical analysis and rumen was sampled at 30, 60, and 90 days of the experiment for ruminal pH, volatile fatty acids (tVFA), and ammonia-N determination. Addition of SO decreased (p = 0.017) ruminal pH, whereas SO and SS increased tVFA (p<0.001) and acetate (p = 0.034) concentrations. Serum glucose increased (p = 0.013) in SO and SS goats vs Control. The SO and SS treated goats had improved milk yield (p = 0.007) and milk fat content (p = 0.002). Moreover, SO increased milk lactose content (p = 0.048) and feed efficiency (p = 0.046) compared to Control. Both of SS and SO increased (p<0.05) milk unsaturated fatty acids content specially conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) vs Control. Addition of SS and SO increased (p = 0. 021) C18:3N3 fatty acid compared to Control diet. Data suggested that addition of either SS or SO to lactating goats ration had beneficial effects on milk yield and milk composition with enhancing milk content of healthy fatty acids (CLA and omega 3), without detrimental effects on animal performance.

Effect of nanoemulsified oils addition on rumen fermentation and fatty acid proportion in a rumen simulation technique

“…Most of the results positively highlighted the role of supplemented oils on different rumen parameters; however, some negative impacts like decreased fibre digestion and milk fat depression were noted as well (Hellwing et al, 2012;Storlien et al, 2012;Patra and Yu, 2013;Morsy et al, 2015). In the present study, nanoemulsified oils were introduced as possibly having less impact on the rumen fermentation characteristics with better effect on preserving PUFA in the biohydrogenation environment.…”

Impacts of Macronutrients on Gene Expression: Recent Evidence to Understand Productive and Reproductive Performance of Livestock

“…Most of the studies reported that oilseed or linseed supplementation has minor or no effect on milk production (Suksombat et al, 2014(Suksombat et al, , 2013, while others reported an increase of milk yield (Johnson et al, 2002). Interestingly, supplementation of sunflower seeds or sunflower oil had a positive effect on milk yield and milk composition in lactating goats (Morsy et al, 2015). Although having an association with bronchiolitis (Sawahata et al, 2010) and cytotoxic activity (Yunita et al, 2013), Sauropus androgynus is traditionally consumed by several Southeast Asian countries and is believed to be an enhancer of milk production during lactation (Bunawan et al, 2015).…”

Effect of linseed oil supplementation on performance and milk fatty acid composition in dairy cows

“…In contrast, dietary consumption of n‐3 fatty acids (n‐3 FA) is beneficial for human health (Gebauer et al ) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) from ruminant fat has been shown to exert anti‐carcinogenic benefits in various experimental animal models (Huth et al ; Gebauer et al ). There is growing interest in elevating n‐3 FA and CLA contents in ruminant products, and supplementation of dairy cows' diets with oilseeds rich in α‐linolenic acid has been shown to increase unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), especially n‐3 FA and CLA concentration in milk (Chilliard et al ; Caroprese et al ; Morsy et al ). As a result there has been a great deal of interest in manipulating the fatty acid profile of milk fat to respond to consumers' concerns.…”