Rumen Fermentation and Fatty Acid Composition of Milk of Mid Lactating Dairy Cows Grazing Chicory and Ryegrass

Abstract

The goals of the current study were to investigate the effects of including chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) into the traditional feeding regime of ryegrass/white clover (Lolium perenne L./Trifolium repens L.), and time of its allocation on milk production, rumen fermentation, and FA composition of milk and rumen digesta of dairy cows. Nine groups of four cows were allocated one of three replicated feeding regimes: (1) ryegrass/white clover only (RGWC), (2) ryegrass/white clover + morning allocation of chicory (CHAM), and (3) ryegrass/white clover + afternoon allocation of chicory (CHPM). One cow per group had a rumen cannulae fitted. Treatment did not affect total grazing time or estimated dry matter intake, but cows ruminated more when fed RGWC than chicory. Allocating chicory in the afternoon elevated milk production compared with RGWC and CHAM. Milk from cows grazing chicory contained greater concentrations of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) such as C18:3 c9, 12, 15 and C18:2 c9, 12 than those on RGWC. As with milk, rumen digesta concentration of PUFA increased when cows grazed on chicory rather than RGWC, which corresponded with lower concentrations of intermediate vaccenic and biohydrogenation end-product stearic acid for cows grazing on chicory. Mean ruminal pH was lower for cows offered chicory than those on RGWC, reflecting greater rumen concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA) for cows fed chicory. Allocating chicory during the afternoon is a useful strategy that can translate to improved milk production. The lower rumen pH, lower concentration of vaccenic and stearic acids, and elevated concentration of PUFA in the rumen of cows fed chicory suggest reduced biohydrogenation and may explain the elevated concentration of PUFA in the milk of cows fed chicory compared with those fed RGWC.

Impact of forage diversity on forage productivity, nutritive value, beef cattle performance, and enteric methane emissions

“…The hypothesis that the COMP forage treatment would have improved forage nutritive value compared with the SIMP treatment would agree with the IVTDMD48 and ADF values observed in this experiment. Although birdsfoot trefoil did not establish as desired, the high forage chicory concentration in 2018 and clover content in following years may explain the difference observed here ( Labreveux et al, 2004 ; Soder et al, 2006 ; Mangwe et al, 2020 ). Additionally, both grazing treatments were dominated by grass species in 2020 could explain the convergence between the two treatments in nutritive value that year, particularly in IVTDMD48 in COMP pastures ( Deak et al, 2007 ; Sanderson et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Additionally, Aitchison et al (1986) found that clover hay had significantly faster rates of digestion of DM and NDF compared with grass hay, and that rumen pool sizes were lower for sheep offered clover hay. The 50% inclusion of chicory in year 1 may have had similar impacts on rumen fermentation as clover ( Waghorn et al, 2002 ; Hristov et al, 2013 ; Mangwe et al, 2020 ). Inclusion of forage chicory has inconsistent results on enteric CH 4 ( Sun et al, 2011 ; Williams et al, 2016 ) and most studies have not found it to be a viable option for CH 4 reduction.…”

Functional Traits, Morphology, and Herbage Production of Vernalised and Non-Vernalised Chicory cv. Choice (Cichorium intybus L.) in Response to Defoliation Frequency and Height

“…Chicory (cv. Choice) fed to dairy cows has shown to increase water intake and reduce urinary nitrogen concentration [8] in addition to supporting greater milk production [9,10] and enhance milk fatty acids profile [11,12]. However, the adoption of alternative forages in different grazing systems requires confidence in the response to management decisions and needs to identify risks to production in different environments.…”

Allosteric modulation of cardiac myosin mechanics and kinetics by the conjugated omega‐7,9 trans‐fat rumenic acid

“…In contrast, during biohydrogenation trans fatty acids are formed with a preference for the double bond in position 11 with vaccenic acid (18:1 trans-11) being the major product. The maximum content of rTFA in ruminant fat and milk reaches about 6% (Mangwe et al 2020). Unlike elaidic acid, vaccenic acid is efficiently converted by desaturases from a wide range of organisms to rumenic acid, the cis-9-trans-11 isomer of conjugated linoleic acid.…”