Changes in milk fatty acid composition of goats during lactation in a semi-intensive production system

Abstract. This study aimed at investigating changes in the fatty acid (FA) profile and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentration of milk fat during lactation from goats managed in a semi-intensive production system, which consisted of grazing on a woody and herbaceous pasture with the supplementation of mixed concentrate and vetch hay. A total of 21 lactating goats were used. Milk samples were collected at different periods (25 April, 29 June, 25 August and 4 October) during lactation and analysed for their chemical composition and FA profile. The most abundant FA in the milk fat of goats was palmitic (C16:0) acid, followed by oleic (C18:1 n-9), stearic (C18:0), capric (C10:0) and myristic (C14:0) acids. These acids accounted for about 88 % of the total milk FA of goats in all sampling periods. The two medium chain FA; capric (P=0.0001) and lauric (C12:0; P=0.0014) acid were affected by the sampling period, whereas myristic (P=0.4469) and palmitic (P=0.4418) acids did not change. Stearic (P=0.0128), oleic (P=0.0001), linoleic (C18:2; P=0.0088) and linolenic (C18:3; P=0.0001) acids also exhibited significant variations between the sampling periods. However, the CLA (C18:2 c9, t11 and C18:2 t10, c12) contents of milk fat did not change during the entire study regardless of the sampling period (P=0.2448). Milk fatty acid composition of goats, which meet a major part of their nutrient requirements through grazing or browsing in a natural pasture, shows a seasonal variation with milk fat in summer representing a better fatty acid profile for product quality.