IMPACT OF LACTATION STAGE ON MILK FAT FATTY ACIDS PROFILE IN GRAZING DAIRY COWS

• Main Authors: Katarína Kirchnerová, Vladimír Foltys, Jiří Špička
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Slovak University of Agriculture 2013-02-01
• Series: Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences
• Subjects: milk; fat; fatty acids; lactation
• Online Access: http://www.jmbfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/7_jmbs_kirchnerova_fbp_b.pdf

The aim of the paper was to extend the knowledge about correlation of current fatty acids (FAs) profile of cow milk fat at herds of cows (n=134) at summer pasture period in mountain dairy farms in Slovakia to milk production and quality parameters. The FAs composition of individual milk was determined by GC-MS, where 54 FAs were identified. Saturated fatty acids (SAFA) (70.48 ± 4.04% in the milk fat) show in the first third of lactation highly significant positive correlation coefficients (r> 0.45, P <0.01) with all indicators of milk production (days, the total amount of milk fat and protein in kg). Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (26.26 ± 3.59%) have to the total milk production significant indirect relationship. Their content decreases with the rise of the total amount (kg) of produced fat (r=-0.426), protein (r=-0.494), milk (r=-0.514), and with the increasing number of days of lactation (r=-0.583, P <0.001). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (3.26 ± 0.069%) show negative correlation coefficients to total amount of produced milk, fat, protein (kg) and the number of days in lactation from r=-0.468 to r=-0.485 (P <0.01). Grazing of dairy cows at mountain farms has a better value of the composition of milk fat from a health perspective, but at the account of lower production.