Antioxidative activity of milk from cows fed herbs

This experiment was done to examine theffects of herb feeding on antioxidative activity in milk. Four Holstein cows in late lactation were fed for 14 days 1) basal diet consising of 43% hay, 14% beet pulp, and 43% concentrates mixture, 2) basal diet + lemongrass, 3) basal diet + peppermint, and 4) basal diet + basil in 94 x 4 Latin square design. Feeding amount of basal diet and each herb was 21 kg and 1 kg per day, respectively. Milk samples were collected one day before the last day and on the last day of each period. 6-Hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (HTCA) equivalent concentrations were used as a parameter of antioxidative activity. HTCA equivalent concentrations in milk of the cows in control, lemongrass, peppermint, and basil treatment were 1.40 (mol/L), 2.05, 2.39, and 2.21, respectively. The HTCA equivalent concentration in milk was significantly higher in the peppermint treatment group than in the control as judged from Turkey's student test.