Effect of Species and Growth Stage on the Concentration of Fatty Acid in Forage and Wild Forage Plants

摘要

Managing the fatty acid composition of grazing ruminant diets could lead to meat and milk products that have higher conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentrations, but forage fatty acid dynamics must be more fully understood for a range of forages before grazing systems can be specified. The fatty acid profiles of 23 different forages, including grasses, legumes and wild forage plants were determined. Linolenic(C18∶3, 41.1 ～ 58.6% of fatty acid), linoleic(C18∶2, 10.1 ～ 27.4% of fatty acid), and palmitic(C 16∶0, 9.8 ～ 18.0% of fatty acid) acids were the most abundant fatty acids in all species, together representing ～96% of the fatty acids present. Concentrations of fatty acids declined as plants developed, but the fraction contribution of each fatty acid to total fatty acids remained relatively stable over time.