Effect of Marine Algae Supplementation on Somatic Cell Count, Prevalence of Udder Pathogens, and Fatty Acid Profile of Dairy Goats’ Milk

Abstract

Simple SummaryNowadays, there has been increased interest in the modification of the fatty acid composition of foods, such as milk and milk products, to reduce human health problems. The most common way to improve the composition of foodstuffs by n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is supplementing animal diets with different plant oils, seeds, fish oil, and freshwater and marine algae. Moreover, fish oil and marine algae (e.g., Schizochytrium limacinum) supplements are a good source of long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA), such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is essential for the development and normal function of the brain, and DHA has beneficial effects for human health, such as reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. In addition, DHA fatty acid has an anti-inflammatory effect, which may help to improve the health of mammary gland secretory activity against the mastitis pathogens. Mastitis pathogen bacterial infection causes an inflammatory reaction within the udder and it leads to reduced milk secretory activity and produces a disadvantageous quality of milk. It was found that marine algae supplementation improved the concentrations of beneficial fatty acids of milk, including higher concentrations of DHA and rumenic fatty acids. In addition, marine algae supplementation decreased the somatic cell counts and prevalence of mastitis pathogens in milk.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Schizochytrium limacinum marine algae on the milk composition and fatty acid profile, somatic cell count, and prevalence of pathogen bacteria in the raw milk of multiparous Alpine goats. Twenty-eight dairy goats were randomly allocated to two groups: control group (C)—fed with 1500 g alfalfa hay and 600 g concentrate; experimental group (MA)—received the same forages and concentrate supplemented with 10 g/head/day marine algae. The goats were housed indoors, while the experiment lasted five weeks, and the milk samples were taken every week. Marine algae feeding had no negative effect on milk composition. The marine algae inclusion significantly decreased the milk somatic cell count and the presence of udder pathogens in the MA group. Mean somatic cell count and presence of udder pathogens were 5.73 log cells/mL and 31%, respectively, in the C group, while these values were 5.34 log cells/mL and 10%, respectively, in the MA group. The marine algae supplementation significantly increased DHA and rumenic acid concentration in the milk of the MA group (0.32 and 0.99 g/100 g of fatty acids, respectively) compared to the C group (0.04 and 0.65 g/100 g of fatty acids, respectively). It can be concluded that a diet supplemented with marine algae significantly improves the udder health of goats and the concentrations of health-promoting fatty acids in milk.