Upgrading the lipid fraction of foods of animal origin by dietary means: rumen activity and presence of trans fatty acids and CLA in milk and meat

The recent literature dealing with the effect of the diet on the quality of milk and meat fat is reviewed. Some aspects of the rumen metabolism of lipids are dealt with: lipolysis, bio-hydrogenation, synthesis of microbial fatty acids and inhibition mechanisms on fermentation. Firstly, the influence of forage is considered. Pasture is the best forage, better if high hill pasture, as compared to hay and silage: short chain fatty acids (SCFA) (shorter than C10) are increased, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) (C-12 through C-16) are decreased, oleic (OA), linoleic (LA) and linolenic (LNA) acids are increased and so are the conjugated linoleic acid pool of isomers (CLA) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA). Secondly, the energy supplementation of diets with fats is looked at. Animal fats depress milk yield and SCFA, while OA is increased because of the enhanced activity of mammary Delta(9) desaturase. Fish oil depresses milk yield as well, but promotes CLA and n-3 PUFA. If animal fats are protected against rumen bacteria, milk yield and milk fat depression are avoided. Vegetable fats are richer in unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), thus more susceptible to the rumen bio-hydrogenation. As calcium soaps or inside whole seeds, plant fats are protected and CLA is increased. CLA is an important component of fat. In ruminants it comes from the desaturation of vaccenic acid (VA) both in rumen and udder; and the yield of VA depends on the diet quality. In conclusion, simple directions are given on how to improve the quality of animal fat by dietary means, without affecting yield.