U.S. patent application number 12/973145 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-14 for methods of incorporating polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk.
This patent application is currently assigned to Martek Biosciences Corporation. Invention is credited to Jesus Ruben Abril, William R. Barclay, Archimede Mordenti, Marco Tassinari, Alessandro Zotti.
Application Number | 20110086128 12/973145 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22798521 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110086128 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Abril; Jesus Ruben ; et
al. |
April 14, 2011 |
Methods of Incorporating Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Milk
Abstract
Method for incorporating polyunsaturated fatty acids into milk
with improved efficiency. The methods include protecting the
polyunsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 and omega-6
polyunsaturated fatty acids, with a protective agent prior to
feeding the fatty acids to a milk producing animal. Methods for
feeding polyunsaturated fatty acids to milk producing animals by
top dressing a polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement on top of
animal feed compositions and methods of making and using such
compositions are also provided.
Inventors: |
Abril; Jesus Ruben;
(Westminister, CO) ; Barclay; William R.;
(Boulder, CO) ; Mordenti; Archimede; (Bologna,
IT) ; Tassinari; Marco; (Bologna, IT) ; Zotti;
Alessandro; (S. Lazzaro di Savena, IT) |
Assignee: |
Martek Biosciences
Corporation
Columbia
MD
|
Family ID: |
22798521 |
Appl. No.: |
12/973145 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11560809 |
Nov 16, 2006 |
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12973145 |
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10312106 |
Mar 28, 2003 |
7504121 |
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PCT/US01/20471 |
Jun 26, 2001 |
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11560809 |
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60214291 |
Jun 26, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
426/2 ; 426/585;
426/601 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A23K 10/16 20160501;
Y10S 426/807 20130101; A23V 2002/00 20130101; A23C 9/20 20130101;
A23K 40/35 20160501; A23K 50/10 20160501; A23C 9/1528 20130101;
A23V 2002/00 20130101; A23C 2230/10 20130101; A23K 20/158 20160501;
A23L 33/12 20160801; A23V 2250/1882 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
426/2 ; 426/601;
426/585 |
International
Class: |
A23C 9/14 20060101
A23C009/14; A23K 1/18 20060101 A23K001/18 |
Claims
1. A composition comprising a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and
a protective fat, wherein said PUFA comprises an omega-3 PUFA,
omega-6 PUFA or a combination thereof.
2. The composition of claim 1, wherein a source of PUFA is a
microorganism.
3. The composition of claim 2, wherein the microorganism is
algae.
4. The composition of claim 2, wherein the microorganism is in a
whole cell form.
5. The composition of claim 2, wherein the microorganism is from
the order Thraustochytriales.
6. The composition of claim 2, wherein the microorganism is from
the genus Thraustochytrium or Schizochytrium.
7. The composition of claim 2, wherein the microorganism is
Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20888 or ATCC 20889 and derivatives
thereof.
8. The composition of claim 1, wherein a source of PUFA is a lipid
extracted from an animal, plant or microbe.
9. The composition of claim 1, wherein a source of PUFA is an oil
seed.
10. The composition of claim 9, wherein the source of PUFA is oil
extracted from the oil seed.
11. The composition of claim 9, wherein the oil seed is soybean,
flax, sunflower, safflower, rapreseed or canola.
12. The composition of claim 1, wherein the protective fat
comprises a triacylglycerol containing at least two and preferably
three saturated fatty acids, or a functional derivative
thereof.
13. The composition of claim 1, wherein the protective fat is
tristearine.
14. The composition of claim 1, wherein the PUFA comprises omega-3
PUFA.
15. The composition of claim 1, wherein the PUFA comprises omega-6
PUFA.
16. The composition of claim 1, wherein the PUFA comprises a
combination of omega-3 PUFA and omega-6 PUFA.
17. The composition of claim 1, wherein the protective fat is mixed
with the PUFA in a ratio of about 1:10 to about 10:1 (protective
fat:PUFA).
18. The composition of claim 1, wherein the ratio is from about 1:5
to about 5:1 (protective fat:PUFA).
19. The composition of claim 1, wherein the ratio is from about 1:1
to about 3:1 (protective fat:PUFA).
20. A method of making a composition comprising a PUFA and a
protective fat, comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining the PUFA,
wherein said PUFA comprises omega-3 PUPA, omega-6 PUFA, or a
combination thereof; and (b) combining the protective fat with the
PUFA to produce the composition.
21. A method of producing milk enriched with omega-3 PUFA, omega-6
PUFA or a combination thereof in an animal capable of producing
milk, comprising feeding the animal the composition of claim 1 in
an amount effective to produce the enriched milk.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the milk-producing animal is a
ruminant.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the ruminant is a cow, sheep,
goat, bison, buffalo, antelope, deer, or camel.
24. A method of obtaining milk enriched with omega-3 PUFA, omega-6
PUFA or a combination thereof in an animal capable of producing
milk, comprising the steps of: (a) feeding the animal the
composition of claim 1 in an amount effective to produce the
enriched milk; and (b) extracting milk from the animal to obtain
the enriched milk.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein said method further comprises
producing a dairy product from the enriched milk.
26. A method of obtaining milk enriched with omega-3 PUFA, omega-6
PUFA or a combination thereof in an animal capable of producing
milk, comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining a PUFA, wherein said
PUFA comprises omega-3 PUFA, omega-6 PUFA, or the combination
thereof; (b) combining a protective fat with the PUFA to produce a
mixture thereof; (c) feeding the animal said mixture in an amount
effective to produce enriched milk; and (d) extracting milk from
the animal to obtain said enriched milk.
27. A method of producing PUFA-enriched milk, comprising the steps
of: (a) adding a layer comprising omega-3 PUFA, omega-6 PUFA, or a
combination thereof on top of feed to form a layered feed, wherein
the PUFA layer contains an effective amount of PUFA to produce
PUFA-enriched milk; and (b) feeding said layered feed to a
milk-producing animal.
28. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of
extracting PUFA-enriched milk from the milk-producing animal.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the omega-3 PUFA, omega-6 PUFA
or the combination thereof is protected with a protective fat.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to methods of incorporating
polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk with increased efficiency. More
particularly, the methods include protecting polyunsaturated fatty
acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids,
with a protective agent prior to feeding the supplement to a
milk-producing animal. The invention further provides methods of
feeding the polyunsaturated fatty acids to milk-producing animals
by top dressing the polyunsaturated fatty acid supplement onto
regular feed to increase the incorporation efficiency of the
polyunsaturated fatty acids into milk.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It is desirable to increase polyunsaturated fatty acid
(PUFA) content of milk to help increase the dietary intake of these
beneficial fatty acids. For example, omega-3 unsaturated fatty
acids are recognized as important dietary compounds for preventing
arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease, for alleviating
inflammatory conditions and for retarding the growth of tumor
cells. For children, it would also be desirable to increase both
the omega-3 (especially DHA, C22: 6n-3) and the omega-6 fatty acid
content of milk as the eicosanoids from the omega-6 fatty acids are
important for growth and DHA is important in brain and nervous
system development. Milk is not only an important food source in
its own right, but it can also be used to make a wide variety of
other dairy products, such as butter, yogurt, cheese and the
like.
[0003] One way to enrich omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs in milk is to
increase the content of these fatty acids in the feed ration of
ruminants. However, it has been found that ruminants fed high
concentrations of long chain unsaturated fat in their feed rations
can sometimes exhibit one or more of the following results: (1)
reduced milk output; (2) decreased fat content in the milk; (3)
decreased protein content in the milk; and (4) increased
trans-fatty acid content in the milk.
[0004] Accordingly, it would be desirable to have improved methods
of producing PUFA-enriched milk. The present invention satisfies
this desire and provides related advantages as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention generally relates to methods of
increasing the efficiency of producing milk enriched with omega-3
and/or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In one aspect,
the invention relates to the protection of PUFAs with a protective
fat. The invention further provides compositions containing omega-3
and/or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and a protective fat,
and to methods of making and using such compositions.
[0006] The source of the PUFAs can be from any animal, plant or
microbial source. A preferred source of the polyunsaturated fatty
acids is a microorganism, particularly algae. The microorganism can
be used in a whole cell form or as a lipid extracted from the
microorganism. Preferably, the microorganism is from the order
Thraustochytriales, more preferably from the genus Thraustochytrium
or Schizochytrium, and in particular Schizochytrium sp. (ATCC 20888
and ATCC 20889). (There has been some discussion in the taxonomic
community as to whether the genus Ulkenia in the order
Thraustochytriales is really separate from the genus
Schizochytrium. For the purpose of this application we follow the
current scientific consensus that Ulkenia is not a valid genus and
species formerly described as "Ulkenia" are really members of the
genus Schizochytrium.) Oil seeds including genetically modified oil
seeds, can also be used as the source of the PUFAs, including
soybeans, flax, sunflower, safflower, rapeseed and canola for
example. The seeds or oils extracted from the seeds can be
used.
[0007] Although a particularly useful protective fat is
tristearins, other tri-saturated triacylglycerols
(e.g.tri-palmitine or tri-myristine), or di-saturated
triacylglycerols which are preferably solid at room temperatures
can also be used. Forms of other protective fats such as tallow,
lard and calcium salts of fatty acids, for example, are also
useful. Functional derivatives of these specific fats are also
contemplated for use in the compositions and methods of the present
invention. Other protective agents can also be used, including
protected forms of casein and soy proteins, for example.
[0008] Preferably, the desired PUFA and the protective fat is
combined in a ratio ranging from about 1:10 to about 10:1
(protective fat:PUFA), more preferably in a ratio ranging from
about 1:5 to about 5:1, more preferably in a ratio ranging from
about 1:1 to about 3:1 and more preferably in a ratio of about
2:1.
[0009] Various methods of making and using the compositions are
also provided. Methods of making the compositions of the present
invention are generally accomplished by obtaining an omega-3 and/or
omega-6 PUFA and combining the protective fat with the PUFA to
produce the composition. Additionally, methods of producing milk
enriched with omega-3 PUFA, omega-6 PUFA or a combination thereof
are also provided in which an animal capable of producing milk is
fed the composition of the present invention. The milk-producing
animal can be a cow, sheep, goat, bison, buffalo, antelope, deer or
camel. Optionally, the methods further include extracting milk from
the animal to obtain the enriched milk as well as producing a dairy
product from the enriched milk, such as cheese, butter, yogurt and
the like.
[0010] In another aspect, the invention also relates to a novel
method of feeding milk-producing animals to increase the production
of PUFA-enriched milk. The method involves adding a layer of a PUFA
supplement on top of regular feed and feeding the animal the
layered feed. The PUFA supplement can contain either protected or
unprotected PUFAs. The methods can further include extracting the
PUFA-enriched milk from the animal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a graph comparing the amount of DHA (mg/l) in milk
produced by cows fed DHA-rich microalgae supplement in a total
mixed ration versus top dressed on the feed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention generally relates to the discovery of
improved methods for producing milk enriched with omega-3 PUFA,
omega-6 PUFA or a combination of these PUFAs.
[0013] In one aspect of the invention, it has now been discovered
that feeding milk-producing animals, particularly ruminants, the
long chain omega-3 and/or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids along
with a protective fat allows for significant enrichment of the PUPA
content of milk while limiting one or more of the following:
reductions in milk production, decreases in fat content, decreases
in protein content, and/or increases in trans-fatty acid content,
when compared to animals fed a non-enriched diet.
[0014] The compositions of the present invention include an omega-3
PUFA, an omega-6 PUFA or a combination of the two and a protective
fat. Preferred PUFAs include any omega-3 or omega-6 polyunsaturated
fatty acids with three or more double bonds. Omega-3 PUFAs are
polyethylenic fatty acids in which the ultimate ethylenic bond is
three carbons from and including the terminal methyl group of the
fatty acid and include, for example, docosahexaenoic acid
C22:6(n-3) (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid C20:5(n-3)(EPA), omega-3
docosapentaenoic acid C22:5(n-3) (DPAn-3), stearidonic acid
C18:4(n-3) (SDA), and linolenic acid C18:3(n-3)(LNA). Omega-6 PUFAs
are polyethylenic fatty acids in which the ultimate ethylenic bond
is six carbons from and including the terminal methyl group of the
fatty acid and include, for example, arachidonic acid C20:4(n-6)
(ARA), C22:4(n-6), omega-6 docosapentaenoic acid C22:5(n-6)
(DPAn-6), gammalinolenic acid C18:3(n-6) (GLA) and
dihomogammalinolenic acid C20:3(n-6)(dihomo GLA). The PUFAs can be
in any of the common forms found in natural lipids including but
not limited to triacylglycerols, diacylglycerols, phospholipids,
free fatty acids, esterified fatty acids, or in natural or
synthetic derivative forms of these fatty acids (e.g. calcium salts
of fatty acids, ethyl esters, etc). Suitable PUFAs for the present
compositions can also include any combination of omega-3 PUFAs
and/or omega-6 PUFAs.
[0015] Any source of PUFAs can be used in the compositions and
methods of the present invention, including, for example, animal,
plant and microbial sources. Sources of the PUFAs and methods for
processing and isolating the PUFAs preferably include those
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,594, issued Aug. 23, 1994 and in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,244, issued Dec. 16, 1997, both incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety. For example, strains of
fungi, algae or protists can be isolated that contain the PUFAs.
The organism, such as algae for example, is preferably fed to the
animal in a whole cell form or alternatively as an extracted lipid.
Preferably, the organism is selected from the order
Thraustochytriales, more preferably from the genus Thraustochytrium
or Schizochytrium, and particularly Schizochytrium. Preferred
strains are the deposited Schizochytrium sp. strains ATCC 20888 and
20889 and derivatives thereof.
[0016] It is especially desirable to use a microbial source of long
chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. These PUFAs are naturally
encapsulated in the microbial cell wall, which can function as a
natural protective barrier. Although feeding the whole-cell
microbes themselves can readily lead to an increase in
polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the milk, decreased milk
production and the other side effects noted above can sometimes
occur depending on the amount of natural protection provided by the
microbial cell wall.
[0017] Oil seeds, such as soybean, flax, sunflower, safflower,
rapeseed and canola for example, are also useful as sources of the
PUFAs. Preferably, oil seeds that have been genetically modified to
increase the PUFA content can be employed. The oil seeds or oil
extracted from the seeds can be used. Methods of extracting oil
from seeds are known to those skilled in the art. Animal sources,
such as fish, can also be used as a source of PUFAs.
[0018] While not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed
that the addition of a protective fat to the PUFAs provides a high
quality stable source of the unsaturated fatty acids, which,
because of the protective fat, is not, for example, degraded or
hydrogenated in the rumen, but is easily digested or absorbed in
the stomach of the ruminant. It is believed that the protective
fats protect the PUFAs from degradation or hydrogenation by the
rumen microflora prior to digestion and absorption of the PUFAs by
the animal. While not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is
believed that the PUFAs can be "protected" by coating or
encapsulating the lipids or whole cells allowing the fatty acids to
pass relatively undamaged through the ruminant's first stomach. As
a result, milk is produced at a substantially normal rate and the
resulting milk is enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids, has
substantially normal fat and protein content, no significant
increases in trans-fatty acids, and/or has excellent organoleptic
qualities.
[0019] As used herein, the terms "protective fat" also commonly
called "by-pass fat" includes any suitable fat that can
encapsulate, coat or otherwise protect the PUFAs from significant
degradation or saturation, while allowing the PUFAs to be easily
absorbed by the animal. Suitable protective fats include, for
example, tristearine, although other tri-saturated triacylglycerols
such as tripalmitine or trimyristine, or di-saturated
triacylglycerols which are solid at room temperatures can also be
used, tallow and calcium salts of fatty acids, and/or functional
derivatives of any of these fatty acids. The term "functional
derivative" include any homologues or other derivatives of these
protective fats that can encapsulate, coat or otherwise protect the
PUFAs from degradation or hydrogenation by rumen microflora. Such
functional derivatives can be readily identified, synthesized or
obtained by those skilled in the art. Milk is considered enriched
when it has at least 20 percent more, preferably at least 50
percent more, preferably at least 100 percent more, preferably at
least 200 percent more and more preferably at least 400 percent
more PUFAs then a control milk. Preferably, the PUFAs are highly
unsaturated fatty acids such as DHA, EPA, SDA, LNA, DPAn-3, DPAn-6,
C22:4(n-6), ARA, GLA and dihomo GLA.
[0020] Methods of making the compositions are also provided which
include obtaining the omega-3 and/or omega-6 PUFA and combining it
with a protective fat. Preferably, the PUFA and protective fat are
combined in a ratio ranging from about 1:10 to about 10:1
(protective fat:PUFA), more preferably from about 1:5 to about 5:1,
more preferably from about 1:1 to about 3:1 and more preferably in
a ratio of about 2:1. The desired ratio of protective fat and PUFA
are mixed together and preferably dried in the form of a flake or
prilled product to form the PUFA supplement. In these forms the
protective fat serves at least one of two functions: (1) to protect
the PUFAs from hydrogenation or degradation in the rumen and
releasing them later in the cows digestive system to be absorbed by
the cow; and (2) to provide a source of by-pass fat to maintain
milk fat and protein content, and maintain normal milk production
in the presence of a high PUFA content feed ration.
[0021] Alternatively, if the microbial or other natural source of
the PUFAs has good natural protection in the rumen (e.g. is
protected by natural encapsulation by the microbial cell wall), the
by-pass fat can be fed just mixed in the ration with the PUFA
source rather than encapsulating it. In this way the by-pass fat
serves to maintain milk fat content (and/or milk protein and/or
total milk production) while the PUFA source serves primarily to
enrich the milk with PUFAs.
[0022] The present invention further provides methods of using the
compositions. In one embodiment, methods involve producing milk
enriched with omega-3 PUFA, omega-6 PUFA or a combination thereof
(referred to herein as "enriched milk") in a milk-producing animal.
The term "milk" as used herein refers to a mammary gland secretion
of an animal that forms a natural food. Milk-producing animals
include, for example, ruminants such as cows, sheep, goats, bison,
buffalo, antelope, deer, and camel, as well as other non-ruminant
animals and humans. The methods are generally accomplished by
feeding the animals an effective amount of a composition of the
present invention to produce enriched milk. These methods are also
useful for nursing females to provide enriched milk to their
offspring.
[0023] In a further embodiment, the present invention also provides
methods for obtaining enriched milk. The methods are generally
accomplished by feeding a milk-producing animal an effective amount
of a composition of the present invention to produce enriched milk
and extracting the milk (e.g., milking) from the animal to obtain
the enriched milk. Any method for extracting milk from the
lactating animal can be used to collect the enriched milk. The
enriched milk can also be further processed to produce a dairy
product, such as cheese, butter, yogurt, sour cream, and the
like.
[0024] In the methods of the present invention, the effective
amounts of the omega-3 and/or omega-6 PUFAs to feed to the animals
can be readily determined by those skilled in the art using the
guidance provided herein. In one embodiment, a particularly useful
range of omega-3 PUFA is from about 0.1 mg to about 100 mg PUFA/kg
body weight/day, preferably from about 0.5 mg to about 50 mg
PUFA/kg body weight/day, and more preferably from about 0.75 mg to
about 20 mg PUFA/kg body weight/day. In another embodiment, a
particularly useful range of omega-3 PUFA is from about 0.1 mg to
about 750 mg PUFA/kg body weight/day, preferably from about 1 mg to
about 500 mg PUFA/kg body weight/day, preferably from about 2 mg to
about 250 mg PUFA/kg body weight/day, and more preferably from
about 5 mg to about 100 mg PUFA/kg body weight/day. Preferably, the
omega-3 and/or omega-6 PUFA is fed in an amount greater than about
2 mg/kg body weight/day. Greater amounts of omega-3 PUFA can be fed
to an animal, including greater than about 5 mg/kg body weight/day,
greater than about 30 mg/kg body weight/day, greater than about 75
mg/kg body weight/day and greater than about 150 mg/kg body
weight/day. An appropriate dose of PUFA can vary with the
particular PUFA and amount desired in the enriched milk and can be
readily determined by those skilled in the art, e.g., by measuring
the PUFA content of the enriched milk.
[0025] The present invention further relates to novel methods of
feeding milk-producing animals to increase the amount of PUFAs in
milk. The methods are generally accomplished by adding a layer of a
desired PUFA (e.g., omega-3 PUFA, omega-6 PUFA or a combination of
the two) on top (referred to herein as "top dressing") of regular
feed not supplemented with PUFAs or containing less PUFAs than the
top layer, and feeding the layered feed to a milk-producing animal.
The PUFA layer or supplement can contain either protected PUFAs as
described above or unprotected PUFAs (i.e., PUFAs without
protective fats or agents). The amount of PUFA in the PUFA
supplement is preferably as described above. The methods can
further include extracting or milking the animal to obtain the
PUFA-enriched milk.
[0026] The following examples are intended to illustrate, but not
limit, the present invention.
EXAMPLE 1
[0027] Fifteen Italian Friesan breed dairy cows (10-40 days from
calving) were randomly divided into three groups of five cows each.
Group 1 cows were fed a diet of barley silage (54.33%), alfalfa hay
(10.35%), barley meal (11.64%), a dairy concentrate
(23.29%)(containing carob, flaked barley, flaked corn, soybean
meal, coconut butter, zeolites and vitamin E) and a vitamin-mineral
premix (0.3%). The other two groups were fed the same diet except
that some of the soybean meal and coconut butter in the dairy
concentrate were substituted with either drum-dried Schizochytrium
sp. ATCC 20888 produced by fermentation (Group 2) or drum-dried
Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20888 produced by fermentation that had
been encapsulated in tristearine (2 parts tristearine to 1 part
dried Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20888) (Group 3). Schizochytrium sp.
ATCC 20888 is a microalgae rich in both the long chain unsaturated
fatty acids DHA (C22:6n-3)and DPAn-6 (C22:5n-6). All the rations
contained approximately the same proximate nutrient content: dry
matter (DM) content (92%), crude protein content (16% DM), fat
content (6.7% DM as ether extract) and crude fiber content (26-27%
DM).
[0028] The cows were fed these rations for 6 weeks. The
polyunsaturated fatty acid content of the resulting milk from each
group on the last day of supplementation is outlined in Table 1.
Results are the mean fatty acid content of the milk from each group
on the last day of an approximate 6 week period of supplementation.
The results indicate that the by-pass (i.e., protective) fat
protected microalgae supplement resulted in the highest increase in
both omega-3 long chain (LCn-3) and omega-6 long chain unsaturated
fatty acids. Milk production, milk fat and protein content
(mean.+-.standard deviation) are listed in Table 2. Results are
averaged from 5 cows per treatment and from 12 milkings/cow over a
2 month period. The results for the protected microalgae indicate
that there was no significant difference in any of these parameters
compared to the control milk, while the unprotected microalgae
supplement form, while effective in increasing the long chain
omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid content of the milk, led to small
decreases in milk production and milk fat content. There also was
no significant difference in trans-fatty acid content among the
three treatment groups.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Content of fatty acids (mg/L) in milk from
cows fed a supplement containing by-pass fat protected whole-cell
microalgae compared to milk from cows fed whole cell microalgae
(unprotected)supplement or cows fed a control ration without any
algal supplement. Unprotected Protected Fatty Acid Control
microalgae microalgae C18:2(n-6) 796 598 818 C18:3(n-3) 94 94 130
C20:4(n-6) 63 58 69 C20:5(n-3) 14 20 20 C22:5(n-6) 3 32 35
C22:5(n-3) 18 14 19 C22:6(n-3) 2 98 114 Total (n-3) 128 226 283
Total (LCn-3) 34 132 153 n-6:n-3 ratio 7 3 3
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Milk production, milk fat (%) and milk
protein content (%) from cows fed a supplement containing by-pass
fat protected whole-cell microalgae compared to milk from cows fed
whole cell microalgae (unprotected)supplement or cows fed a control
ration without any algal supplement. Milk Milk Milk Production Fat
Protein Dietary Treatment (kg milk/milking) (%) (%) Control feed
ration 16.3 .+-. 1.8 3.4 .+-. 0.2 2.8 .+-. 0.2 Feed ration with
added 15.4 .+-. 2.6 2.8 .+-. 0.5 2.9 .+-. 0.2 unprotected DHA/DPA
microalgae Feed ration with added DHA/ 17.7 .+-. 2.7 3.2 .+-. 0.4
2.9 .+-. 0.2 DPA microalgae protected by by-pass fat
encapsulation
EXAMPLE 2
[0029] Two independent groups of dairy cows, 40 each, were selected
to test milk enrichment with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), using
DHA-rich microalgae feed. Both groups of cows had an average milk
production of 22 kg (milking twice a day, morning and evening),
were of similar age, lactation period and gestation stage. The
average weight of the animals was 600 kg, and the animals were of
the German Hemental breed.
[0030] The two groups of cows were fed 30 g of DHA/day/head in the
faun of dried DHA-rich microalgae. One group of cows received
microalgae as part of a total mixed ration (TMR) and the other
group received the microalgae as a top dressing (TD) on their
feed.
[0031] Milk samples were collected at the milking parlor, in the
morning and evening, the two samples pooled and analyzed for fatty
acids. Samples were collected for 40 days, and at the end of 40
days, DHA supplement was discontinued and samples were collected
for the following 10 days to observe DHA washout.
[0032] The animals received a typical ration for the region where
the trial was conducted consisting of: Wheat/barley/corn, barley
hay, straw hay, short cut hay, corn silage, molasses and 44%
soy.
[0033] As shown in Table 3, an unexpected result was obtained where
the top dressed milk samples exhibited a higher DHA enrichment, 120
mg/1, as compared to the total mixed ration milk samples, 68 mg/l.
Data is the average of eleven samples taken during peak DHA
enrichment (sample numbers 4-15 in Table 4). Milk production and
feed intake were not affected by the introduction of the DHA-rich
microalgae supplement in the diet.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Average DHA concentration (mg/L)in milk from
cows fed a DHA-rich microalgal supplement mixed completely within
the ration (TMR) compared to cows fed the supplement top dressed
(TD) on their normal feed ration. Standard Variable Valid N Mean
Minimum Maximum Dev. TMR 11 68.0 48.0 101.0 14.4 TD 11 120.0 90.0
148.0 17.2
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 DHA concentration (mg/L) in samples of milk
from cows fed a DHA-rich microalgal supplement mixed completely
within the ration (TMR) compared to milk from cows fed the
supplement top dressed (TD) on their normal feed ration. SAMPLE NO.
VAR1 TMR TD 1 1.000 0.000 0.000 2 2.000 33.000 63.000 3 3.000
38.000 90.000 4 4.000 48.000 72.000 5 5.000 48.000 121.000 6 6.000
58.000 106.000 7 7.000 83.000 128.000 8 8.000 71.000 114.000 9
9.000 66.000 131.000 10 10.000 57.000 90.000 11 11.000 74.000
145.000 12 12.000 67.000 119.000 13 13.000 64.000 111.000 14 14.000
101.000 108.000 15 15.000 59.000 148.000 16 16.000 54.000 71.000 17
17.000 44.000 46.000 18 18.000 46.000 69.000 19 19.000 39.000
64.000 20 20.000 38.000 59.000 21 21.000 35.000 55.000 22 22.000
36.000 49.000 23 23.000 35.000 45.000 24 24.000 47.000 36.000 25
25.000 38.000 41.000
[0034] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous
changes and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments
of the invention and that such changes and modifications may be
made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is
therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such
equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of
the invention.
* * * * *