Effect of olive leaves feeding on phenolic composition and lipolytic volatile profile in goat milk.

The aim of this study was to evaluate phenolic composition, antioxidant potential, and lipolytic events in raw milk obtained from goat fed a dietary supplementation with olive leaves (OL), a by-product of the olive oil production chain. For this purpose, 30 Saanen goats were randomly allocated into 2 groups of 15 goats each: the control group received a standard diet that was prepared by taking into account the nutritional needs of lactating goats, whereas the experimental group (EG) was fed with an OL-supplemented diet (10% on a dry matter basis). At the end of the 30 d of the trial, the individual milk samples were collected and immediately analyzed for total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (AOA). Subsequently, the individual phenolic compounds have been identified and quantified through an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography system and a characterization of free fatty acids released in milk has been performed. The results showed a positive effect of dietary OL supplementation in improving total phenolic content and AOA; furthermore, 19 phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, simple phenols, and secoiridoids, have been identified in EG milk. In addition to this, a reduced accumulation of free fatty acids has been found in EG milk, and this finding leads us to hypothesize an inhibitory action of the identified phenolic compounds toward the enzymes responsible for lipolytic events. The use of the molecular docking approach verified the interactions, defining a fairly interesting framework for cinnamic acid, which should be able to noncovalently bind these enzymes, interfering with the recruitment of the substrate and therefore, slowing down their hydrolytic activity. In any case, this information will be subjected to in vitro evaluations for an accurate characterization of the biochemical mechanisms that can be established in milk naturally enriched with bioactive compounds.

Metagenomic and volatile profiles of ripened cheese obtained from dairy ewes fed a dietary hemp seed supplementation.

Chemical and organoleptic properties of dairy products largely depend on the action of microorganisms that tend to be selected in cheese during ripening in response to the availability of specific substrates. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of a diet enriched with hemp seeds on the microbiota composition of fresh and ripened cheese produced from milk of lactating ewes. Thirty-two half-bred ewes were involved in the study, in which half (control group) received a standard diet, and the other half (experimental group) took a diet enriched with 5% hemp seeds (on a DM basis) for 35 d. The dietary supplementation significantly increased the lactose in milk, but no variations in total fat, proteins, caseins, and urea were observed. Likewise, no changes in total fat, proteins, or ash were detected in the derived cheeses. The metagenomic approach was used to characterize the microbiota of raw milk and cheese. The phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were in equally high abundance in both control and experimental raw milk samples, whereas Bacteroidetes was less abundant. The scenario changed when considering the dairy products. In all cheese samples, Firmicutes was clearly predominant, with Streptococcaceae being the most abundant family in the experimental group. The reduction of taxa observed during ripening was in accordance with the increment (relative abundance) of the starter culture Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus, which together dominate the microbial community. The analysis of the volatile profile in ripened cheeses led to the identification of 3 major classes of compounds: free fatty acids, ketones, and aldehydes, which indicate a prevalence of lipolysis compared with the other biochemical mechanisms that characterize the cheese ripening.

Whole-transcriptome profiling of sheep fed with a high iodine-supplemented diet.

Iodine (I) is a micronutrient that mammals need for proper functionality of thyroid gland since it is the main component of thyroid hormones. Besides studies that have investigated the role of I in livestock nutrition, it is also important to know the transcriptomics changes in small ruminants following I supplementation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of I on the whole blood transcriptome in sheep. Fifteen lactating cross-bred ewes (3 to 4-year-old, 55 to 65 kg BW) at their late lactation period were enrolled in this study. At the beginning, all the animals had a 2-week acclimation period where they were fed with a basal diet which includes an adequate level of I (2 mg I/animal per day) in the form of calcium iodate (CaI2O6). Then, the ewes were randomly divided into two groups and fed in individual troughs: the control group (n = 5) was maintained on basal diet and the experimental group (I, n = 10) was fed for 40 days with a diet containing a high I supplementation (equivalent to 30 mg I/animal per day), in the form of potassium iodide. Whole blood and milk were collected individually at the beginning (T0) and after the 40 days of supplementation (T40). Iodine quantification was assessed in serum and milk sample. Microarray gene expression analysis was performed on whole blood and, filtering data using a fold change >2 with an adjusted P < 0.05, we identified 250 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the I group (T40 v. T0). Looking for biological processes associated with our DEGs, we found significant association with cell growth regulation. Thus, our study unveils the role of I supplementation on gene expression in sheep improving the knowledge about micronutrients in animal nutrition.

Dietary supplementation with dried olive pomace in dairy cows modifies the composition of fatty acids and the aromatic profile in milk and related cheese.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary integration of dried olive pomace (DOP), a by-product of olive oil separation, on nutritional and aromatic properties of milk and cheese. Twenty dairy cows were divided into 2 groups that were balanced for milk yield, parity, and days in milk. The control group was fed a conventional diet (20 kg of dry matter/head per day), whereas the experimental group (EG) received the conventional diet supplemented with DOP as 10% of dry matter. During the trial, milk yield was recorded and the samples of milk, cheese, total mixed rations, and DOP were collected and analyzed to determine the chemical-nutritional composition and aromatic profile. Atherogenic and thrombogenic indices were calculated on the basis of the fatty acid (FA) profile of milk and cheese. Data were analyzed according to the mixed model for milk yield and chemical composition, including cows nested within treatment as a random effect, whereas the general linear model was used for the analysis of cheese parameters. Differences were assessed by Tukey's test. The EG diet had a lower content of palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acids and a higher level of oleic acid compared with the control. Dietary DOP integration did not affect milk yield and composition with the exception of protein content, which was greater in EG and significantly affected by diet and period. Instead, period was found to be significant for fat and casein in both groups. Dietary supplementation with DOP modified the FA profile of milk and cheese. There was a decrease in short- and medium-chain FA, but significance was achieved only for palmitic acid. The stearic, isomer trans of oleic (in particular vaccenic acid), oleic, and isomer trans of linoleic acids significantly increased. Monounsaturated FA increased in EG milk and cheese and saturated FA were significantly lower, whereas no difference was marked between the groups regarding level of polyunsaturated FA. Supplementation with DOP reduced atherogenic and thrombogenic indices and increased conjugated linoleic acid in both milk and cheese. The free fatty acids, ketones, lactones, esters, and phenylalanine catabolites were increased in raw milk, whereas only leucine metabolism was affected by diet in pasteurized milk cheese at both 1 and 30 d of ripening. The present results pointed out that DOP supplementation may improve the nutritional and nutraceutical properties and modify the aroma of milk and derived cheese.

Transcriptomic signature of high dietary organic selenium supplementation in sheep: A nutrigenomic insight using a custom microarray platform and gene set enrichment analysis.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a high dietary Se supplementation on the whole transcriptome of sheep. A custom sheep whole-transcriptome microarray, with more than 23,000 unique transcripts, was designed and then used to profile the global gene expression of sheep after feeding a high dietary supplementation of organic Se. Lactating crossbred ewes ( = 10; 3 to 4 yr of age and 55 to 65 kg BW) at late lactation (100 ± 8 d in milk) were acclimated to indoor individual pen feeding of a basal control diet (0.40 mg Se/d, sodium selenite) for 4 wk. Sheep were then kept on a diet with an extra (high) supplementation of organic Se (1.45 mg Se/d as Sel-Plex; Alltech Biotechnology Pty Ltd, Dandenong, Victoria, Australia) for 40 d. Whole blood was collected at 2 time points (last day of the acclimatization period [T0] and after 40 d of the organic Se supplementation [T40]), and then total RNA was isolated and labeled for the subsequent microarray analysis. Significance Analysis of Microarrays, using the -statistic, of the microarray data (T40 versus T0) evidenced the up- and downregulation of 942 and 244 transcripts (false discovery rate < 0.05), respectively. Seven genes showed the same trend of expression (up- or downregulation) when tested by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) in a cross-validation step. The microarray showed significant upregulation of the following selenoproteins at T40: selenium binding protein 1 (SELENBP1), selenoprotein W1 (SEPW1), glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPX3), and septin 8 (SEPT8). And the expression trends for SEPW1 and SEPT8 were validated using qPCR. Functional annotation of the differentially expressed genes showed the enrichment of several immune system-related biological processes (lymphocyte activation, cytokine binding, leukocyte activation, T cell differentiation, and B cell activation) and pathways (cytokine and interleukin signaling). Moreover, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis evidenced the enrichment of B and T cell receptors signaling pathways, with an enrichment score of 0.63 and 0.59, respectively. Overall, from a global gene expression (whole-transcriptome) point of view, short-term supplementation of a high dietary organic Se to Se-nondeficient sheep results in a transcriptomic signature that mainly reflects an induced immune system and a modulation of transcription effect. Also, the present study provides a custom whole-transcriptome microarray platform that can be used in further global gene expression studies in the ovine species.