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Dairy by-products – whey and permeate thereof – are widely used in both food and animal feed (including ruminant feed) production worldwide. In the study, which took place from 18 August to 16 December 2020, an experiment was performed with Holstein dairy heifer calves by feeding them milk acidifier (PP) obtained from whey permeate. Organic acids in acidifiers lower the pH level of the feed, and their antimicrobial effect creates environment unsuitable for pathogenic microorganisms to develop. The liquid acidifier obtained by fermentation can also serve as a functional feed ingredient – a source of B vitamins, protein and energy. In addition, reduction of the spread of antimicrobial resistance requires alternative ways how animal health is cared for both in Latvia and Europe, especially by natural means. The study was aimed at investigating the effect of the new product in a triple (divided) and single (undivided) feeding system on the calf growth and health. It covered 30 heifers born during the period from 18 August to 16 September 2020 and kept in SIA LLU MPS “Vecauce” dairy cow shed “Līgotnes” under equal housing conditions. The study groups were completed gradually, dividing the newborn heifers into three groups – E1, E2 and K (n=10 in each group). The mean live weight (at birth) in all groups was similar: 36.9±1.09 (E1), 39.3±0.69 (E2) and 38.7±1.33 (K) kg (p≥0.05). Control (K) group heifers received pasteurized whole milk without acidification. The heifers of the experimental groups – E1 and E2 – were fed 2-3 times a day with less acidified (pH 4.6–5.2) or once a day with more acidified (pH 4.2–4.6) pasteurized bulk milk. Acidified milk was fed to the animals from 7 to 75 days of age introducing the feed gradually. Animal health (appearance, fecal consistency and appetite) was assessed daily. One animal ate an average 533.6±3.45 (E1), 553.7±3.08 (E2) and 547.8±2.48 (K) liters of milk (d. 2–75) and 23.6±2.51 (E1), 24.2±3.03 (E2) and 30.7±3.64 (K) kg of concentrates between the ages of 2 and 75 days. Significant (p <0.05) differences were found only in the amount of milk eaten, which was smaller in the E1 group. Upon the cessation of milk feeding at 75 days of age, heifers reached the live weight of 105.0±3.76 (E1), 108.0±2.61 (E2) and 106.8±2.65 (K) kg, but the daily weight gain was 908±46.5, 917±32.7 and 909±24.4 g/d. Although the results of the E2 group were higher, the difference between the groups was not significant (p≥0.05). Fecal consistency, assessed on a point system from 0 to 4, also did not differ significantly between the groups (p≥0.05). During the first 30 days of life, it showed an average of 0.12±0.027 (E1), 0.12±0.035 (E2) and 0.07±0.019 (K) points. It should be noted that no cases of diarrhea (above 2 points) were observed in any animal throughout the study. The results confirm that PP can be used to acidify the milk fed to calves under both divided and undivided feeding; moreover it saves the time required for feeding. Milk acidifier can be added to milk directly as it does not need to be diluted, therefore use of the product is more convenient and safer than other more concentrated commercial products. The research received funding from the ERDF Post-doctoral Research Support Program No.1.1.1.2/16/I/001. Research application “Processing of Whey into Value-Added Products for Food Industry and Agriculture” Nr.1.1.1.2/VIAA/2/18/307, Investment in kind: SIA LLU MPS “Vecauce” and JSC “Smiltenes Piens”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was focused on whey ultrafiltration permeate (UF) fermentation by genetically unmodified (wild) organisms. We chose five classical Propionibacterium (Prb) strains that are attributed to the dairy subclass. The optimal temperature for Prb growth is around 28-30°C, however, for energy saving purposes the aim of this study was to observe the organic acid, especially propionic acid (PA) and biomass production of the chosen Prb (DSM 20273 Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici = A, DSM 20272 Acidipropionibacterium acidipropionici = B; DSM 4902 Prb. freudenreichii = E; DSM 20535 Acidipropionibacterium jensenii = J; DSM 20276 Acidipropionibacterium thoenii = T) at the room temperature (22±0.5°C). As expected, all the strains were able to convert lactose into acid, however, with different efficiency, thus the production of PA by Prb is strain -dependent. The higher productivity of PA was observed in samples with strains T, J, and B in a 26-day period, however, it should be noted that also the strain E showed high efficiency in a shorter (6-day) period. The highest concentration of PA was produced by strain T, and it reached 3.7±0.13 g L-1 within a 26-day period. The concentration of the PA produced depends on the duration of fermentation, and on the proportions of other acids produced as well. An individual strain initially can produce PA more slowly than others, but over time can be effective, which may be related to adaptation to environmental conditions. We also observed the presence of background microflora in whey permeates – most likely lactic acid bacteria. Lactic acid was produced most rapidly and was the most abundant acid produced from whey UF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of the crop biomass in energy production is one of the preconditions to avoid ecological disasters in future and compensate growing shortage of fossil energy sources. Alternative biomass feedstocks will be required for renewable energy targets; yet it is imperative that production of renewable energy from biomass must be environmentally benign. Thus, it is important that emissions from biomass combustion are low. The research covered preparation of various content pellets from reed canary grass (RCG) variety 'Marathon' and energy wood osier and poplar in different proportions (1/3, 1/1, 3/1). Combustion ability is greatly influenced by biomass indicators like content of hemicelullose, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) or carbon (p<0.05). It was found that there is close negative correlation between combustion ability and content of hemicellulose (r=- 0.91), NDF (r=-0.93) and carbon content (r=- 0.82), while with ADF there is close positive correlation (r=0.84). Medium close correlation (p<0.05) was discovered between combustion ability and cellulose content (r=0.66), lignin content (r=0.77) and absolute dry matter (r=0.71). In its turn, there is no correlation between combustion ability and potassium or sulphur content (p>=0.05). Analysis of the results acquired within the research allows concluding that proportion of components the most suitable for production of pellets is 1/3 (RCG+ timber). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutritional value and shelf life of milk and dairy products depend on the composition and stability of their constituents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of carrots as cow feed carotenoid source on butter oil fatty acid (FA) composition and oxidative stability. Milk was obtained from one trial group (TG; n=5) and one control cow group (CG; n=5) in a conventional dairy farm in Latvia. TG cows received carrots 7 kg per cow per day; the length of the supplementation period was 39 days. The stability of butter oil exposed to sunlight (3h) and held for 14 days in the temperature of 60 °C was analyzed by peroxide value method. The changes of the FA content and ratios in TG milk fat were more positive with respect to the fat nutritional value as observed in CG -- stronger increase in the content of polyunsaturated FA (p<0.05), and in the ratio between stearic and palmitic acids (p<0.05); also a tendency was seen of increasing content of short and monounsaturated FA, as well as decreasing the ratio between ω6 and ω3 FA groups. Oxidative stability of the carrot supplemented cow group's milk butter oil samples that were collected after 25- day trial period, exposed to sunlight (3h) and stored at a temperature of 60 °C was significantly (p<0.05) higher compared to CG samples. After the 39-day long trial period stability difference was not significant, despite the tendency that average polyunsaturated FA content in TG samples was higher compared to the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality and nutritional value of milk and dairy products are considerably influenced by the stability of its constituents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possibility of enhancing oxidative stability of cow's milk fat and vitamin B2 using carrots and palm oil feed supplement CAF 100 as sources of natural antioxidants in cow feed. Milk samples were collected after 25-day period of feed supplementation. The intensity of riboflavin losses during its photo oxidative degradation in sunlight was measured by the fluorometric method. A slight and significant (p<0.05) difference in higher vitamin B2 stability was seen in carrot-supplemented group (TG1) milk, where the losses of vitamin B2 were by 3.01% less compared to CG (CG). The oxidative stability of butter oil samples stored in 60 °C temperature was analyzed by peroxide value (PV) method. The oxidative stability of samples initially affected by light from both trial groups was significantly (p<0.05) higher compared to CG showing the good potential of the cow diet enrichment with carotenoid additives. The longest induction period (> 14 days) was observed in CAF-100-supplemented (TG2) cow milk fats, which can be explained by carotenoids and tocopherol presence and its possible synergism in fat protection. The induction periods of the TG1 and CG were 12.03 and 10.97 days, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Carotene (BC) and α-tocopherol in milk fat have positive implications in human nutrition, besides the specifically protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids from oxidation. To determine the possible effect on some milk components, nutritional value and lipid stability of including carrots in the diet of lactating cows, ten cows were selected in a dairy farm and divided into 2 groups (control and experimental) by 5 cows in each. In experimental group's diet additionally 7 kg carrots per cow per day were included. Individual cow milk samples were obtained 1 day before feed enrichment, in days 7, 24, 35, 42 (during the feed enrichment), and 1 week after feed enrichment. Analyses of milk fat, protein content, somatic cell count (SCC), retinol, BC, vitamin C, tocopherols, immunoglobulins (Ig), lysozyme, fatty acids (FA) were made, and milk yield was measured. Supplying cow diet with carrots showed a tendency to improve milk quality by promoting the faster decrease of SCC, and significantly (p<0.05) increasing Ig and lysozyme content, thus potentially improving milk nutritional value. The vitamin content rose significantly (p<0.05) by retinol and tocopherol contents, but β-carotene content increase in milk was not observed. Also milk fatty acid (FA) stability changes during 5 day storage in temperature of 4 - 6 °C were not observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carotenoids are involved in the sensory and nutritional values of dairy products. The milk used for consumption or dairy processing should have a high antioxidative capacity to achieve high-quality products. Feeding is one of the most significant factors influencing cow productivity, and composition and quality of milk. It is expected that milk from cows fed silage has higher concentration of β-carotene and α-tocopherol than milk from cows fed hay. In grazing systems herbage maturity stage affects the amount of carotenoids ingested and may affect carotenoid concentrations in milk. In the present study, the content of total carotenes in different forages was analysed, and the content of β-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E in milk samples was investigated. It was detected that the average content of total carotenes in feed samples of silage, haylage, hay, grass, clover, rapeseed cake, and carrots was respectively 87.64, 7.57, 1.78, 24.06, 47.13, 2.96, and 138.95 mg kg-1 of dry matter. The results of investigations showed that the content of total carotenes in pasture grass, clover and stem-grass samples decreased from June till August. Correlation between the protein and total carotenes content in pasture grass samples was calculated (r=0.49, p<0.05). The content of β-carotene (131 µg L-1), vitamin A (44 µg L-1), and vitamin E (48 µg L-1) in milk samples was higher when the feed of cows had higher content of total carotenes, e.g. 830 mg per cow per day. The milk samples demonstrated an average content of β-carotene (40 µg L-1), vitamin A (37 µg L-1), and vitamin E (35 µg L-1) when cows were not provided with an optimal content of total carotenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three spectrophotometric methods were compared for the assessment of milk fat oxidation: the AOCS (American Oil Chemists' Society) 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value direct method, the TBA method of Aristova, and the modified method for the estimation of total carbonyl compounds in oils of Endo et al. Two cow milk fat samples -- a fresh fat, obtained from fresh milk, and a rancid fat, obtained from a rancid commercial butter by means of high-speed centrifugation (15.871 x g, 30 minutes at 40 °C) -- were analyzed several times in a 22-day period after sample preparation. A positive linear correlation between absorbance and storage time was established in all used methods. The method of Aristova is appropriate for exact determination of oxidation products. This method had rather good R² value (0.85) of the fresh fat sample results; however, the coefficient of variation (45.78%) showed rather large deviations between parallel analyses. The methods of AOCS and Endo et al. can be used for the assessment of the dynamics of fat oxidation by reporting absorbance values from the assay directly. By these methods rather high R² values (0.86, 0.93) of the fresh fat sample results were obtained; the coefficients of variation also were satisfactory (10.13%, 11.12%). The last two methods are cheaper and require smaller sample amounts (< 0.2 g), while the method of AOCS is the most time-consuming method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]