Abstract #125

# 125
Protecting dietary n-3 fatty acid and vitamin E and C in feed and its effect on the nutritional profile of goat milk.
Andrea Discua1, Jung Hoon Lee*1, Chelsea Jeanjulien1, 1Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding rumen-protected dietary supplements (RPDS) containing n-3 fatty (omega-3) acids and vitamin E and C on the nutritional profile of goat milk. The RPDS were prepared with n-3 fish oil, defatted soy flour, a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) chemical and α-tocopherol (TOC) either with or without ascorbic acid (ASC). Nine Saanen lactating goats (4 yr old; BW = 42.1 ± 2.06 kg) were divided into groups of 3 and randomly assigned to 3 diets using a 3 × 3 Latin square design with 14-d periods. The 3 diets consisted of control (BD plus TOC+ASC), RPDS-TOC (75%BD plus 25%RPDS containing TOC) and RPDS-TOC+ASC (75%BD plus 25%RPDS containing TOC+ASC) diets. Furthermore, the BD (basal diet) contained alfalfa meal, yellow corn and soybean meal. Each period consisted of a 10-d adjustment to assigned diets followed by 4-d of milking collection. The designated diet was provided once daily ad libitum at individual feed stations. The collected milk samples from each goat were analyzed for basic nutrient, α-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, and fatty acid composition. All the data were analyzed as a 3 × 3 Latin square design using the PROC MIXED procedures of the SAS. No significant differences were found in the basic nutrient of milk samples from the 3 different diets. Compared with lactating goats fed a control diet, goats fed both RPDS containing diets (RPDS-TOC and RPDS-TOC+ASC) had higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of α-tocopherol (0.87 vs 1.27 and 1.28 μg/mL) in milk. The concentration of ascorbic acid in skim milk from goats fed either a control or RPDS-TOC+ASC diet was higher (P < 0.05; 14.2 or 15.1 vs 11.1 μg/mL) than that from goats fed a RPDS-TOC diet. Compared with lactating goats fed control diet, goats fed either RPDS-TOC or RPDS-TOC+ASC diet had higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of eicosapentaenoic (C20:5n-3, 0.32 vs 0.95 or 0.92%) and docosahexaenoic (C22:6n-3, 0.28 vs 0.75 or 0.71%) acids in milk. The results indicate that feeding lactating goats with the rumen-protected dietary supplements prepared with GRAS chemicals can increase the deposition of α-tocopherols and n-3 fatty acids in their milk.

Key Words: fish oil, vitamin E and C, goat milk