Fatty acid profile of goat milk in diets supplemented with chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.)

Chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) is the greatest known plant source of n-3 α-linolenic acid. The present study evaluated the effects of 3 inclusion levels of chia seed zero (control); low, 2.7% (CLow); and high, 5.5% (CHigh)] in diets of dairy goats on milk yield and fatty acid profile. Nine Saanen dairy goats in the last third of lactation period, live weight 38 ± 8.7 kg, housed in metabolic cages, were fed iso-proteic and iso-energetic (160 g of crude protein/d and 11 MJ of metabolizable energy/d) diets. Gas chromatography was used to analyze fatty acid profile and total conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Silver ion HPLC was used to analyze the isomeric profile of CLA. The results were subjected to variance analysis using a Latin square design repeated 3 × 3. The CHigh treatment was higher for dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber intake compared with CLow and control diets. Digestibility was not affected by the inclusion of chia seeds. The CHigh diet improved N intake with respect to the control and CLow diet. Milk yield and chemical composition were not affected by the treatment. The milk fatty acid profile of C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, and C:20 was higher for CHigh than the other treatments. The in vitro gas production (mL of gas/g of dry matter) was lower in CHigh than the control diet. In conclusion, the addition of chia seeds at the CHigh level in dairy goat diets negatively affected in vitro rumen fermentation, but increased the milk fatty acid profile of C18:0, C18:1n-9 cis, and C:20, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The total CLA content increased from 0.33 to 0.73% with the supplementation of chia to the diet, as well as the isomers cis-9,trans-11, trans-7,cis-9, trans-11,cis-13, and trans-12,trans-14.