The effect of dairy cow feeding regime on functional milk production

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate nutritional strategies that will increase theconcentration of the conjugated linoleic acid in milk to produce functional milk with regard tohealth benefits in dairy cow. Conjugated linoleic acid isomers are naturel fatty acids in foodsobtained from ruminants.The main substrates for biohydrogenation are linoleic acid andlinolenic acid, an essential fatty acid. It has been identified 54 different conjugated linoleicacid isomers that have beneficial biological activity. cis-9, trans-11 18:2 and trans-10, cis12 18: are most bioactive isomers of CLA. In milk fat, the cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleicacid is found in major amounts more than trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid.Conjugated linoleic acid is first produced as an intermediate product during thebiohydrogention in the rumen of dietary linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Another majorpathway of conjugated linoleic acid synthesis in dairy cows is endogenous synthesis in themammary gland. Dietary cis-9, trans-11 conjugated linoleic acid is of great interest due to itshealth benefits known to a cancer chemopreventive and antiatherogenic. Therefore, manyresearchers have looked for ways of increasing the amount of conjugated linoleic acid in cowmilk. For this pupurpose, researchers have adopted two approaches. The first approach is tomake dietary changes to increased the natural conjugated linoleic acid production of cow. Thesecond approach is to feed with mixtures of conjugated linoleic acid isomers protected againstmicrobial biological hydrogenation in the rumen. As a result, as consumers continue to beaware of the relationship between diet and health, increased conjugated linoleic acid level ofmilk may provide new market opportunities for milk and milk products as functional food.