Effect of plant oils in the diet on performance and milk fatty acid composition in goats fed diets based on grass hay or maize silage

Based on the potential benefits to long-term human health there is interest in developing sustainable nutritional strategies for reducing saturated and increasing specific unsaturated fatty acids in ruminant milk. The impact of plant oil supplements to diets containing different forages on caprine milk fatty acid composition was examined in two experiments using twenty-seven Alpine goats in replicated 3 x 3 Latin squares with 28 d experimental periods. Treatments comprised of no oil (control) or 130 g/d of sunflower-seed oil (SO) or linseed oil (LO) supplements added to diets based on grass hay (H; experiment 1) or maize silage (M; experiment 2). Milk fat content was enhanced (P