Effects of abomasal infusion of conjugated linoleic acids, Sterculia foetida oil, and fish oil on production performance and the extent of fatty acid Δ⁹-desaturation in dairy cows.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), Sterculia foetida oil (STO), and fish oil (FO) on milk yield and composition, milk FA profile, Δ(9)-desaturation activity, and mammary expression of 2 isoforms of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (SCD-1 and SCD-5) in lactating dairy cows. Eight multiparous Holstein cows (69 ± 13 d postpartum) were used in a double 4 × 4 Latin square design with 28-d periods. For the first 14 d of each period, cows received an abomasal infusion of (1) 406 g of a saturated fatty acid (SFA) supplement (112 g of 16:0 + 230 g of 18:0) used as a control (CTL), (2) 36 g of a CLA supplement (13.9 g of trans-10,cis-12 18:2) + 370 g of SFA, (3) 7 g of STO (3.1g of 19:1 cyclo) + 399 g of SFA, or (4) 406 g of FO (55.2 g of cis-5,-8,-11,-14,-17 20:5 + 59.3 g of cis-4,-7,-10,-13,-16,-19 22:6). Infusions were followed by a 14-d washout interval. Compared with CTL, STO decreased milk yield from 38.0 to 33.0 kg/d, and increased milk fat concentration from 3.79 to 4.45%. Milk fat concentration was also decreased by CLA (2.23%) and FO (3.34%). Milk fat yield was not affected by STO (1,475 g/d) compared with CTL (1,431 g/d), but was decreased by CLA (774 g/d) and FO (1,186 g/d). Desaturase indices for 10:0, 12:0, and 20:0 were decreased, whereas the extent of desaturation of 14:0, 16:0, 17:0, and 18:0 was not affected by CLA treatment compared with CTL. Infusion of STO significantly decreased all calculated desaturase indices compared with CTL; the 14:0 index was reduced by 80.7%. Infusion of FO decreased the desaturase indices for 10:0, 14:0, 20:0, trans-11 18:1, and 18:0. The effect of FO on the 14:0 index indicates a decrease in apparent Δ(9)-desaturase activity of 30.2%. Compared with CTL, mammary mRNA abundance of SCD-1 was increased by STO (+30%) and decreased by CLA (-24%), whereas FO had no effect. No effect was observed on mRNA abundance of SCD-5. In conclusion, abomasal infusion of CLA, STO, and FO were shown to exhibit varying and distinct effects on desaturase indices, an indicator of apparent SCD activity, and mammary mRNA abundance of SCD-1.