Biodiverse Forages in Animal Nutrition

Farming systems based on high dietary forage
proportions have been shown to increase n-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in ruminant fat
compared to conventional farming systems that rely
more on concentrate feeding. Further,
alpine/mountain systems, with high forage
proportions and botanical diversity, have also been
described to increase the n-3 PUFA content in
ruminant fat. In the first part of this book, proper
handling procedures are reported to minimize the
fatty acid losses from forage harvest until
analysis. Comparison between different extraction
solvents is also presented concerning fatty acid
analysis in plant tissues. In the second part of
this book, the fatty acid composition of several
biodiverse forages, both fresh and ensiled and
produced under Dutch and Flemish conditions, are
reported. The effect of feeding these forages on the
fatty acid composition of dairy milk and lamb fat,
and the potential ''origin'' of the oberserved
differences, based on the precursor supply and
changes in the endogenous ruminant fatty acid
metabolism are also described.

Autorentext

Born in 1979 in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2003, she completed her studies on Veterinary Medicine at the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal. In September 2007, she obtained her PhD in Applied Biological Sciences from Ghent University, Belgium. Since then she works as post-doctoral researcher at Ghent University, Belgium.

Klappentext

Farming systems based on high dietary forage proportions have been shown to increase n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in ruminant fat compared to conventional farming systems that rely more on concentrate feeding. Further, alpine/mountain systems, with high forage proportions and botanical diversity, have also been described to increase the n-3 PUFA content in ruminant fat. In the first part of this book, proper handling procedures are reported to minimize the fatty acid losses from forage harvest until analysis. Comparison between different extraction solvents is also presented concerning fatty acid analysis in plant tissues. In the second part of this book, the fatty acid composition of several biodiverse forages, both fresh and ensiled and produced under Dutch and Flemish conditions, are reported. The effect of feeding these forages on the fatty acid composition of dairy milk and lamb fat, and the potential 'origin' of the oberserved differences, based on the precursor supply and changes in the endogenous ruminant fatty acid metabolism are also described.