Milk Fatty Acid Composition and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Content in Dairy Ewe’s Milk in Relation to the Nature of Food Supplements -

Milk fatty acid composition was determined in Sicilo – Sarde dairy ewes supplemented with two concentrates made of varied raw materials. Twenty Sicilo-Sarde ewes were divided into two homogeneous groups (after analysis by Bartlett test of homogeneity) according to age (5.3 ± 1.25 years and 5.7 ± 1.15 years), litter size (1.1 ± 0.31), the number of lactation (4.3 ± 1.25 and 4.6 ± 0.96), and weight (33.83 ± 5.63 and 33.95 ± 5.58 kg). Ewes were housed in two identical boxes with an area of 10.14 m 2 each (1.01 m 2 /ewe). Both groups of ewes were offered a common base ration of oat hay (1.5 kg DM / ewe ). They were supplemented with one of two concentrates at the rate of 500 g /ewe/ day . The first concentrate (CC) was a standard concentrate made of corn, barley, wheat bran, soybean and a mineral supplement and vitamins for sheep. The second concentrate (CS) included local white sorghum, horse beans and the same mineral and vitamins supplement. Milk samples (1 sample /group of ewes/ week) during the first ten weeks of the study, were collected for analysis of total fat and fatty acids by gas chromatography. The fat content was 72.1 ± 4.1 and 75.8 ± 6 g / kg for the control group (CC) and experimental group (CS), respectively. The main fatty acid was palmitic acid C16 (27.75 ± 1.29% vs. 27.77 ± 1.21% of total fatty acids for the CS and CC diets, respectively) and miristic acid C14 (12.06 ± 0.82% and 12.47 ± 1.21% for CC and CS, respectively). Capric acid (C10) had an intermediate concentration. It was comparable (p> 0.05) in both concentrates (7.17 ± 1.17) in the control group (CC) and 7.38 ± 1.39 % in the experimental group (CS). The concentration of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was 0.48 ± 0.03 for the CC and 0.36 ± 0.09% for the CS ewe groups, respectively. Total fatty acids were comparable (p> 0.05) for both ewe