The objectives of this trial were to evaluate the effect of dietary oil supplementation on milk yield, milk composition and milk fatty acids profile of lactating Saanen goats. Four ruminally cannulated multiparous goats averaging 54±1.02 kg BW and 80 days in milking were used. Goats were fed a control diet or a diet supplemented with one the following oil sources: canola, rice or soybean. The statistical design was a 4 x 4 Latin square and data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS (2001). Mean comparisons were done by orthogonal contrasts with significance level at 10%. Except for content of milk total solids, no significant differences were observed for milk yield and milk composition by feeding different oil sources to lactating goats. Oil supplementation increased milk fat concentration of 18:0, 18:1n-9 and 18:2 (CLA) and decreased that of saturated fatty acids (SFA), short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). Oil supplementation also increased milk concentration of monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), long chain fatty acids (LCFA), n-3, n-6 and the PUFA/SFA ratio. Feeding soybean oil to lactating goats increased milk content of PUFA, n-6, and the ratios of n-6/n-3 and PUFA/SFA and decreased concentration of 22:6n-4 compared to canola oil. Inclusion of vegetable oils in diet of lactating goats improved milk nutritional quality due to increased concentration of desirable fatty acids.
saturated fatty acids; unsaturated fatty acids; unsaturated oil
