• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.188-191
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• 1996

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of fish oil supplementation with low dose on the lipid content and fatty acid composition of breast milk. Among 18 lactating women who were exclusively breast-fed their babies, 6 were in control group and 12 were in fish lil groups. The subjects in fish oil groups were supplemented with 1.96g/d or 3.92g/d of fish oil for 2 weeks from 10 to 12 weeks of postpartum. All subjects consumed their usual diet at home. Breast milk samples were collected at the final day of experiment. By fish oil supplementation, the concentrations of triglyceride, cholesterol, free fatty acid and phospholipid as well as total lipid in breast milk tended to increase, but not significant. There was no dose-dependent response. The fatty acid composition of breast milk was not changed by fish oil supplementation. These results suggest that low dose of fish oil supplementation may increase of lipid content, but does not affect on the fatty acid composition of breast milk.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1105-1109
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• 2005

The effect of dietary fatty acid supplementation on milk production, milk composition and plasma constituents in dairy cows was examined. Dietary fatty acids including mainly palmitic acid and stearic acid were given to cows from 2 weeks before and 8 weeks after parturition. Weekly gain of daily milk production was increased gradually during early lactation period and reached a plateau at 4 weeks after parturition. Weekly gain of daily milk production in lactating cows received dietary fatty acids was significantly higher than that of cows given a control diet alone. Although milk lactose concentration was slightly decreased by dietary fatty acid supplementation, milk fat and protein were not significantly influenced by dietary fatty acid supplementation. Dietary fatty acids did not affect plasma concentrations of triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acids, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glucose during postpartum. It is suggested that dietary fatty acid supplementation has the potency to enhance energy balance and improve milk yield without any adverse effects on milk composition.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.735-741
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• 1999

The effects of supplementation with nitrogen molasses mineral blocks and molasses urea mix during and immediately prior to the dry season on the production of dairy cows were studied on-station and on-farm near Morogoro, Tanzania. Supplementation of blocks to on-station cows also receiving ad libitum grass hay and 6 kg/d of maize bran increased milk production from 6.7 L/d to 11.2 L/d (p<0.05), increased dry matter intake from 10.1 kg/d to 12.0 kg/d (p<0.05), but did not significantly affect milk composition, intake of hay, and live weight changes. This increase in milk yield is mainly explained by increased intakes of energy and nitrogen. Supplementation with the molasses urea mix increased daily milk yield from 6.7 L/d to 8.8 L/d (p<0.05), but did not significantly affect the other measured production parameters. The on-farm supplementation of the blocks increased daily milk yield by 1.5 L/d in the dry season (p<0.05). This supplementation did not increase milk yields prior to the dry season, since quality forage was still available. Taking the production costs into account, supplementation with the blocks and supplementation with mix were cost effective if milk yields increased by 0.7 L/d. Hence supplementation with blocks and supplementation with mix were effective on-station, and supplementation with blocks was cost effective on-farm during the dry season.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.670-677
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• 2004

Sixteen multiparous Holstein-Friesian crossbred cows in mid-lactation were blocked according to days in milk (DIM) and previous lactation and randomly assigned according to a Randomized Complete Block (RCB) design with four replications to receive four dietary treatments. The dietary treatments consisted of T1: No cassava hay (CH) or stylo 184 hay (SH) supplementation, supplementation of concentrate to milk yield at 1:2 (control), T2: Supplementation of 1 kg of CH/hd/d, supplementation of concentrate to milk yield at 1:2, T3: Supplementation of 1 kg of CH+SH/hd/d, supplementation of concentrate to milk yield at 1:2, T4: Supplementation of 2 kg of CH+SH/hd/d, supplementation of concentrate to milk yield at 1:3. All animals received Ruzi grass from a cut-and-carry system as roughage source. The feeding trial lasted for 9 weeks. The results revealed that DMI of concentrate of supplemented treatments were significantly lower (p<0.05) than those in the control, but there was no significant difference between T2 and T3. There was no significant difference in forage DM intake between the control and supplemented treatments. CP and NDF digestibility of supplemented treatments were significantly (p<0.05) greater than the control and there were no significant differences among supplemented treatments. Milk yield and 3.5% FCM (14.3, 14.5, 14.7 and 14.8; 13.9, 14.3, 14.3 and 14.6 kg/hd/d, respectively) were not significantly different among treatments. Milk protein percentage of supplemented treatments was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the control, but there were no significant differences among supplemented treatments. There was no significant difference in milk fat percentage between the control and supplemented treatments. However, milk fat percentage tended to be higher for supplemented animals as compared to the control group. There were also no significant differences in lactose, solids-not-fat and total solids percentages among treatments. Cows in supplemented treatments gave incomes over supplement cost (IOSC) of 2.72, 2.74 and 2.93 US$/hd/d, respectively which were greater than for cows on control treatment. Furthermore, IOSC were greatest for cows in T4 as compared to other treatments. Based on this study it was concluded that, feeding cassava hay solely or in combination with stylo 184 hay as a supplemental protein source could be a potential valuable strategy in small-holder dairy farming systems in the tropics. This strategic supplementation significantly reduced concentrate use, which resulted in improved milk yields and milk quality for the supplemented cows. Moreover, it resulted in higher economical returns through increased productivity and lower ratios of concentrate to milk yield, from 1:2 to 1:3.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2015

This study aimed to investigate the effects of Dandelion (Taraxzcum coreanum) supplementation on milk yield, milk composition and blood characteristics in lactating dairy cows. Eight lactating dairy cows were divided into two groups (control: TMR supplementation, treatment: TMR with Dandelion supplementation). The milk yield, milk fat, lactose, solids not fat (SNF) and somatic cells counts (SCC) were not significantly different between the control group and the treatment group, whereas milk protein, milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and free fat acid (FFA) were significantly higher in the treatment group compared to the control (p<0.05). The blood components of the treatment group were compared with those of the control group and only aspartate aminotransferase (AST) appeared significantly high (p<0.05). The other blood components were not significantly different in the two groups. Blood corpuscle components in the groups were not significantly different. Especially, all blood corpuscle components in the treatment group were within the normal range. However, the white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM) and hematocrits (HCT) in the control group exceeded the normal range. Based on the above results, the addition of Dandelion to feed increased milk protein, MUN and FFA, but did not significantly affect the composition of the blood and corpuscle in Holstein milking cows.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1271-1277
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• 2008

The effects of feeding soybean oil (SBO) or rumen protected conjugated linoleic acid (RP-CLA) on CLA accumulation in milk, and performance of lactating dairy cows were studied. Twenty four Holstein Friesian crossbred lactating dairy cows, averaging $126{\pm}45days$ in milk, $15.6{\pm}2.43kg$ of milk and $452{\pm}51kg$ body weight were stratified randomly and assigned in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) to three treatments of 8 cows each. The treatments were control, 150 g of SBO and 150 g of RP-CLA supplementation. Performance parameters showed that DM intake, NELP intake and body weight change were similar across treatments, while CP intake was decreased by SBO and RP-CLA supplementation. Milk yield and milk composition were not significantly different among treatments, except for milk fat percentage and fat yield which were significantly decreased by 27% (p<0.05) and by 28% (p<0.01), respectively, by RP-CLA supplements compared with control treatment. Feeding RP-CLA reduced 3.5% FCM compared with the other treatments (p<0.003). Both SBO and RP-CLA supplementation reduced ${\geq}C18:0$ and CLA concentration in milk fat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1364-1373
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• 2012

Four crossbred (75% Holstein Friesian) lactating dairy cows, with an average live weight of $418{\pm}5$ kg and $36{\pm}10$ d in milk were randomly assigned according to a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangement in a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design to evaluate the effects of cassava hay (CH) and rice bran oil (RBO) on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation, milk yield, and milk composition. Factor A was non-supplementation or supplementation with CH in the concentrate. Factor B was supplementation with RBO at 0% or 4% in the concentrate mixture. The four dietary treatments were (T1) control (Concentrate with non-CH plus 0% RBO; C), (T2) Concentrate with CH plus 0% RBO (CH), (T3) Concentrate with non-CH plus 4% RBO (RBO), and (T4) Concentrate with CH plus 4% RBO (CHRBO). The cows were offered concentrate, at a ratio of concentrate to milk production of 1:2, and urea-lime treated rice straw was fed ad libitum. Urea-lime treated rice straw involved 2.5 g urea and 2.5 g $Ca(OH)_2$ (purchased as hydrated lime) in 100 ml water, the relevant volume of solution was sprayed onto a 100 g air-dry (91% DM) straw, and then covering the stack with a plastic sheet for a minimum of 10 d before feeding directly to animals. The CH based concentrate resulted in significantly higher roughage intake and total DM intake expressed as a percentage of BW (p<0.05). Ruminal pH, $NH_3$-N, BUN and total VFA did not differ among treatments, while RBO supplementation increased propionate, but decreased acetate concentration (p<0.05). Furthermore, the population of total ruminal bacteria was significantly lower on the RBO diet (p<0.05). In contrast, the total ruminal bacteria and cellulolytic bacteria on the CH diet were higher than on the other treatments. Supplementation with CH increased (p<0.05) F. succinogens and R. flavefaciens populations, whereas the populations of B. fibrisolvens and M. elsdenii were increased on the RBO diet. In addition, supplementation with CH and RBO had no effect on milk production and composition in dairy cows, while fatty acid composition of milk was influenced by RBO supplementation, and resulted in significantly lower (p<0.05) concentrations of both short-chain and medium-chain FA, and increased (p<0.05) the proportion of long-chain FA in milk fat, as well as significantly increased cis-9, trans-11 CLA and total CLA. In conclusion, RBO or CH exhibited specific effects on DMI, rumen fermentation, microbial population, milk yield and composition in lactating dairy cows, which were not interactions between CH and RBO in the diets. Feeding lactating dairy cows with RBO could improve fatty acid in milk fat by increasing cis-9, trans-11 CLA.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.1409-1418
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• 2001

Two trials were carried out during two different grazing seasons to evaluate effect of grass silage supplementation, when amount of pasture is limited on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and gross energetic efficiency (GEE) of grazed lactating cows on a high forage-based diet. Fifty-one Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of two dietary treatments: high pasture group or high silage group. In the spring flush, pasture and silage DMI, milk yield, milk fat percentage, and GEE were not different between the dietary groups. After the spring flush, pasture and silage DMI were higher for the high silage group than for the high pasture group. After the spring flush, although these were the higher total DMI of the high silage group than the high pasture group, milk yield was significantly (p<0.05) higher for the high pasture group than the high silage group. Milk fat percentage tended to be higher for the high silage group than the high pasture group. The GEE was significantly (p<0.05) higher for the high pasture group than the high silage group during after the spring flush. This study indicated that supplementation of grass silage, especially after the spring flush, can have a significant effect of increasing of forage intake and maintenance of the milk fat percentage; but not increase milk yield and GEE.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1137-1143
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• 2013

To evaluate lactation performance and changes in plasma and fecal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) concentrations in response to the supplementation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (SC), two dairy farms were selected. On each farm, 32 cows in early to mid lactation (21 to 140 DIM) were blocked by parity and days in milk (DIM), and randomly assigned to one of the two treatments within block (Control or 56 g SC/cow/d). Effect of SC on lactation performance (daily) and changes in blood and fecal LPS level were examined on d 0 and 28 of supplementation. The results showed that SC supplementation increased lactation performance of dairy cows on both farms. On Farm 1, milk production, 3.5% fat corrected milk (FCM), and yield of milk fat and protein were greater (p<0.01) for cows supplemented with SC. Supplementation of SC increased percentage milk fat (p = 0.029) from 81 to 110 DIM. There was no significant effect (p>0.05) of SC supplementation on percentage of milk protein, dry matter intake and feed efficiency. On Farm 2, cows supplemented with SC had a greater (p<0.05) milk yield, percentage of milk fat and milk protein, yield of milk fat and protein, 3.5% FCM and feed efficiency. Supplemental SC had no effect on LPS concentrations in feces (p>0.05) while it trended to reduce (p = 0.07 or 0.207) the concentration in plasma. The results indicate that supplemental SC can increase lactation performance of dairy cattle and has potential for reducing plasma LPS concentration.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.600-604
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• 2000

Exp. I, the study was conducted to examine the supplementation levels of cassava hay (CH) in dairy cows. Six multiparous Holstein-Friesian crossbreds were paired and randomly assigned in a change-over design to receive three levels of CH supplement at 0, 0.8 and 1.7 kg DM/hd/d. Concentrate was supplemented at the same level (1:2; concentrate:milk yield) while urea-treated (5%) rice straw was offered on ad libitum basis. The results revealed that supplementation of CH could significantly reduce concentrate use resulting in similar milk yield (12.5, 12.12 and 12.6 kg/hd/d) and significantly enhanced 3.5% FCM (14.21, 15.70, 14.9 kg/d, respectively). Moreover, CH supplementation significantly increased milk fat and milk protein percentages especially at 1.70 kg/hd/d. Concentrate use could be significantly reduced by 27% at 1.7 kg/hd/d CH supplementation. Exp. II, supplementation of cassava hay to replace concentrate use was studied in lactating-Holstein Friesian crossbreds grazed on Ruzi grass. Six multiparous cows in mid-lactating periods were paired and randomly assiged according to a change-over-design to receive three dietary treatments, $T_1=0kg$ cassava hay (CH) in 1:2 concentrate supplementation (CS) to milk yield (MY), $T_2=1.0kg$ DM CH/hd/d in 1:3 CS to MY, $T_3=1.7kg$ DM CH/hd/d in 1:4 CS to MY, respectively. The results were found that milk yield were similar among treatments while protein, lactose and solids-not-fat percentages were highest (p<0.05) in cows receiving CH at 1.0 kgjhd/d. Most significant improvement from CH supplementation was the ability to reduce concentrate use by 42% which could provide a higher income for small-holder dairy farmers. In addition, milk thiocyanate was enhanced from 5.3 to 17.8 ppm (p<0.05) in the control and in the CH supplemented group (1.7 kg/hd/d), respectively. Moreover, CH supplementation could significantly reduce concentrate level for diary feeding thus resulted in more economical return. Cassava hay demonstrated as a potential and high-quality on-farm feed resource especially for dry season feeding in the tropics.