Effects of dry matter intake, addition of buffer, and source of fat on duodenal flow and concentration of conjugated linoleic acid and trans-11 C18:1 in milk

The primary objective of the study was to investigate the effects of DM intake, addition of buffer, and fish vs. soybean oil on duodenal flows and milk concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and trans-11 C-18:1. Four ruminally and duodenally cannulated multiparous cows averaging 106 +/- 17 d in milk at the start of the trial were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design with treatments as follows: 1) control = diet contained 2% fish oil and fed ad libitum, 2) buffer addition ( BUFF) = control diet with 0.8% of NaHCO3 added, 3) low DM intake (LDMI) = DMI restricted to 80% of the control but concentration of fish oil was increased to 2.5% to provide for similar fatty acids (FA) intake, and 4) soybean oil (SBO) = same as control except 2% soybean oil was substituted for fish oil. The diets consisted of 36.2% forage and 63.8% concentrate. Each period consisted of 18 d, with the last 7 d devoted to data collection and the first 4 d used to determine the appropriate amount of feed to be offered to the cow on LDMI. Duodenal flows of CLA and trans-C-18:1 were lower for SBO than for diets with fish oil. Feeding buffer did not affect ruminal pH or duodenal flows of trans-11 C-18:1 and CLA. Restriction of DMI decreased duodenal flow of trans-11 C-18:1 but did not decrease duodenal flow of CLA compared with control. In milk, CLA concentration was lower for SBO (24.5, 17.9, 18.5, and 10.1 mg/g of FA for control, BUFF, LDMI, and SBO, respectively). Cows fed fish oil had higher duodenal flow and milk concentration of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids than the cows fed SBO. Compared with SBO, fish oil is more effective in increasing duodenal flows of CLA and tras-11 C-18:1, and thus, concentration of CLA in milk.