The aim of the present research was to study changes
in milk composition and fatty acid profile, specifically
conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and its isomers, in goat
milk as affected by dietary supplementation of sunflower
oil and whole linseed (0.81 and 1.84% of dry
matter on basal diet, respectively) and to assess the
persistency of the response. To achieve this objective,
bulk milk from a herd and from 6 individual dairy goats
fed a diet supplemented with sunflower oil and whole
linseed was monitored for a period of 3 mo. Gas chromatography
and silver ion HPLC were used to analyze
total CLA content and the isomeric profile of these fatty
acids, respectively. The contents of α-linolenic acid increased
from 0.35% with the reference diet to 0.62%
with the supplemented diet. Similarly, CLA milk content
increased from 0.46 to 1.18%. The same pattern
was also observed for trans-11 C18:1 (1.38 to 4.05%,
respectively) in goat milk after 3 mo of lipid supplementation.
In contrast, changes in other trans C18:1 isomers
were less remarkable