The Effects of Brewer’s Spent Yeast (BSY) Inclusion in Dairy Sheep’s Diets on Ruminal Fermentation and Milk Quality Parameters

Abstract

Brewer’s spent yeast (BSY) is a byproduct of the beer industry, rich in proteins and bioactive compounds. The effects of BSY were investigated through a 6-week feeding trial on 30 lactating dairy Blackhead sheep (54.7 ± 5.66 kg, 177.34 days in milk) distributed under a completely randomised design in two groups: a control group (with soybean meal and sunflower meal as protein sources), and a BSY group, where soybean meal was totally replaced by BSY (5.4% inclusion, DM basis). The inclusion of BSY led to a 25% decrease in ruminal propionate and in the acetate/propionate ratio. BSY influenced the milk fatty acid profile by significantly decreasing the omega 6: omega 3 ratio and increasing the contents of caproic, capric, and lauric acids. Also, the inclusion of BSY was associated with an increase in the milk’s total polyphenols. Consistently, determinations of the parameters of the milk fat’s oxidative stability revealed a decrease in conjugated diene contents. Moreover, the mineral contents of milk were influenced, with an increase in Ca content noted. Overall, these results indicate that BSY represents an alternative feedstuff for ruminants’ nutrition, which could have the potential to induce changes in ruminal fermentation and milk composition that are beneficial for consumers.

The Effects of Flax and Mustard Seed Inclusion in Dairy Goats’ Diet on Milk Nutritional Quality

“…The feeding experiment was assessed according to the legislation in this field (Directive 2010/63/EU) [13], and the procedures were approved by the Ethical Commission of the National Research and Development Institute for Biology and Animal Nutrition, Balotesti, Romania. Flax and mustard seeds were obtained from local varieties and provided by a producer from Southern Romania.…”

“…The proximate chemical composition for the milk samples (crude protein, crude fat, total caseins, lactose, density, and pH) was assessed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), with a CombiScope FTIR 200 system (PerkinElmer, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States), according to standard methods in this field (ISO 9622:2013) [13].…”