Fatty Acid Profile of Milk and Cheese from Dairy Cows Supplemented a Diet with Palm Kernel Cake.

ABSTRACT

Lipid supplements (oilseeds vegetables) are included in ruminant diet to increase its energy density and improve fatty acid composition of milk and consequently of fresh cheese. Milk and cheeses were evaluated from crossbred Holstein × Zebu, fed diets enriched with 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% inclusion levels of palm kernel cake in concentrated supplement, which were supplied daily (3.0 kg). Milk and fresh cheese (p = 0.001) fatty acids C120 exhibited quadratic negative values. Milk fatty acids C130, C200, C182t10c12, and C202n-6 presented positive quadratic values. The milk C182n-6 decreased linearly and in fresh cheese exhibited an increasing linear effect (p = 0.016). However, the fatty acids grouped in milk fat were not affected. The medium-chain fatty acids varied negatively and quadratically (p = 0.045). There was no effect on milk and fresh cheese chemical composition (p > 0.05). The milk fat was increased (p = 0.0065) quadratically (minimum point of 24.7%). Thus, the addition of palm kernel cake to cow diets negatively altered the fatty acid profile, it raises the percentage of lauric (C12) and tridecanoic (C13) acids fat which is not beneficial to human health from a nutraceutical perspective, although it did not influence the atherogenicity index.