Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the dietary effect of conventional or lutein-fortified chlorella on milk production and lutein incorporation in milk. Fifteen Holstein cows in mid-lactation were used in a 3 × 3 Latin square design each with a 21-day period. Cows were top-dressed daily with 30 g of conventional or lutein-fortified chlorella for 3 weeks. Cows without chlorella served as the control. The feed intake and milk yield were not affected by dietary treatments. The concentrations of milk protein and solids non-fat in groups fed diets containing both conventional and lutein-fortified chlorella were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in content of milk fat among groups. The levels of plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, interferon-gamma and interleukin-2 were not influenced by the dietary treatments. Lutein content in milk was significantly increased in groups fed lutein-fortified chlorella as compared with those of conventional chlorella and control, respectively (P < 0.01). These results imply that conventional and lutein-fortified chlorella has positive effects on milk components and the use of lutein-fortified chlorella in a dairy diet is effective in the production of milk enriched with lutein.
Highlights
Lutein is a natural fat soluble xanthophyll carotenoid occurring as a pigment in some plants and algae
Feed intake was not influenced by the dietary treatments and both chlorella were completely consumed by the experimental animals
There was no significant difference in milk yield and content of milk fat among groups
Summary
Lutein is a natural fat soluble xanthophyll carotenoid occurring as a pigment in some plants and algae. Food sources of natural lutein include green and yellow vegetables and fruits, egg yolks and breast milk (Sommerburg et al 1998). Several carotenoids, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, occur in significant concentrations in human macula and retina and they are often referred to as macular pigments (Sommerburg et al 1998). A genus of unicellular green algae, is a good source of lutein. We found that the lutein content of the chicken eggs was greatly increased after feeding of chlorella powder to commercial laying hens (Jeon et al 2012). There have been increasing interests in dietary supplementation of carotenoids and vitamin E
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