Influence of dietary plant oils on mammary lipogenic enzymes and the conjugated linoleic acid content of plasma and milk fat of lactating goats

A feeding experiment with 15 lactating goats and 3 dietary treatments was conducted to investigate supplementation of safflower or linseed oil on milk production and the fatty acid (FA) profile of blood plasma and milk, and to measure the mRNA abundance of stearyl CoA desaturase (SCD), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) in mammary biopsies. Goats were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups with five goats per treatment consisting of a basal diet supplemented with chopped alfalfa hay at a level of 299.9 g/kg (dry matter (DM) basis) as the control (CON); CON diet mixed with safflower oil (50 g/kg of TMR DM) as a source of C18:2 (SO) or linseed oil (50 g/kg of TMR DM) as a source of C18:3 (LO). The experiment lasted 8 wks which included a 2 wk adjustment period. Milk fat yield (P