Abstract

MOJICA-RODRIGUEZ, José Edwin; CASTRO-RINCON, Edwin; CARULLA-FORNAGUERA, Juan  and  LASCANO-AGUILAR, Carlos Eduardo. Effect of stage of maturity on fatty acid profile in tropical grasses. Corpoica cienc. tecnol. agropecu. [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.2, pp.217-232. ISSN 0122-8706.  https://doi.org/10.21930/rcta.vol18_num2_art:623.

The effect of three stages of maturity (three, six and nine weeks) on forage yield, nutritional quality and fatty acid profile were evaluated in pasture grasses (ten cultivars and one hybrid) and in cut and carry grasses (four cultivars). A replicated split plot design was used, in which the forage species was the main plot and the stage of maturity the subplot. The principal fatty acids present in the grasses were palmitic acid (C16:0), linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3). The fatty acid concentration in grass tissue was affected by stage of maturity in pasture and cut-and-carry grasses, but the effects were not the same for all species. With the exception of M. maximus cv. Tanzania that exhibited a higher content of conjugated linoleic acid precursors, all other species had similar content of precursors, suggesting that the use of these species in dual purpose cattle systems would result in similar concentration of conjugated linoleic acid c9 t11 in milk fat.

Keywords : Fatty acids; Animal feeding; Feed grasses; Ruminants.

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