Pros and cons of the supplementation with oilseed enriched concentrates on milk fatty acid profile of dairy sheep grazing Mediterranean pastures

Abstract The aim of this research was to study the effects of dietary supplementation on the composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of milk from grazing dairy sheep. Forty-eight lactating Sarda ewes were randomly allocated to four homogeneous groups: PAS – control group grazing for 22 h/d without supplementation; NFS – group supplemented with a cereal based concentrate; SLNA – group supplemented with a concentrate enriched with sunflower seeds (106 g/kg DM); and SALA, group supplemented with a concentrate enriched with linseeds (105 g/kg DM). Milk from groups receiving the oilseed enriched concentrate (SLNA and SALA) showed increased total C18:2 non-conjugated dienes, C18:1 t 9 and total trans C18:1 by 106% (P  c9, t11 , (2.90 vs 2.27 g/100 g of FAME; P  c9, t11 in milk, also resulted in some counters effects on milk nutritional quality, compared to grazing without supplementation.