Effects of type of oilseed and level of concentrate on fermentation, biohydrogenation of fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid production in a rumen-simulated continuous culture system

This experiment employed a rumen simulated continuous culture system to examine the possibility of improving the rumen bypass of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by using a high proportion of concentrate in the feed, and compared soya and linseed in terms of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) production. No effect of type of fat source was observed on ruminal fermentation. A high proportion of concentrate (80%) in the feed decreased (P<0.001) vessel pH but increased (P<0.01) ammonia nitrogen, total VFA, acetate, butyrate and valerate concentrations compared with a low proportion (40%). Fat sources (soya vs. linseed) and concentrate ratio in the feed did not affect digestibilities of organic matter (OM), total nitrogen, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Soya increased the flows of trans C18:1, C18:2 n-6 and C18:3 n-3 compared with linseed. The difference in fat source alone did not affect the flow of CLA but this was increased when high levels of soya and linseed were associated with a high proportion of concentrate in the feed. There was no effect of fat source on biohydrogenation of C18:1 n-9 and C18:2 n-6, but biohydrogenation of C18:3 n-3 and total C18 PUFA was higher with the linseed than with the soya treatment. A high proportion of concentrate decreased biohydrogenation of C18:2 n-6, C18:3 n-3 and total C18 PUFA compared with a low proportion.