Abstract
A study was conducted over the summer of 2014 on nine Alpine pastures in the Chisone and Susa Valleys (NW Italy). The aim was to characterize the variation in the chemical composition, gross energy, in vitro true digestibility (IVTD), in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD), fatty acids (FA), total phenols, total and condensed tannin contents, and terpenoid profile. The dry matter, ash, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, lignin, and gross energy contents of the pastures were found to differ. All the pastures had good IVTD (706–829 g/kg DM) and NDFD (487–694 g/kg NDF) values. The most abundant FAs in all the pastures were α-linolenic (354–519 g/kg of the total FAs), linoleic (75–110 g/kg of the total FAs), and palmitic acid (64–89 g/kg of the total FAs) and they differed significantly among pastures. No significant differences were found in the total phenols, or in the total and condensed tannin contents among pastures. Fifty-eight terpenoids were detected and 4-cyclopentene-1, 3-dione, β-caryophyllene, and eucalyptol were the most abundant. The terpenoids differed both qualitatively and quantitatively among pastures. The results highlight the importance of the great biodiversity of pastures, which provide a balanced distribution of fundamental nutritional elements and bioactive compounds in grasslands.
Highlights
Knowledge of the botanical composition of pastures, in terms of the nutritional quality, the fatty acid (FA) and tannin contents and the terpenoid profile, is a key element in ensuring good coverage of the nutritional needs of livestock and correct classification of the pastures [1].Several studies have shown that forage species, as well as maturity and environmental conditions, may determine considerable variations in the FA content of pastures [1,2,3] and forages [4,5,6]
No significant differences were found in the total phenols, or in the total and condensed tannin contents among pastures (Table 3)
The results of present study could be useful for dairy farmers in the studied area, and more in general in the Alpine district, to characterize the nutritional quality and bioactive compounds present in the pastures and to correlate them to those of high-quality dairy products, to highlight possible markers capable of linking the product to the production area, and to discriminate these mountain products from those derived from intensive dairy farming
Summary
Knowledge of the botanical composition of pastures, in terms of the nutritional quality, the fatty acid (FA) and tannin contents and the terpenoid profile, is a key element in ensuring good coverage of the nutritional needs of livestock and correct classification of the pastures [1].Several studies have shown that forage species, as well as maturity and environmental conditions, may determine considerable variations in the FA content of pastures [1,2,3] and forages [4,5,6]. Alpine pastures have been reported to be rich in phenols, and tannins in particular, and these compounds have been studied because of their potential role in the reduction of ruminant methane production through a modification of ruminal fermentation [7,8]. Terpenoids are important constituents of the essential oils of plants and are emitted, by plants of different botanical species, as semiochemicals [12]. They are more abundant in dicotyledons, such as the Apiaceae and Asteraceae plant families, but are present in lower amounts in some others, like Fabaceae. Monocotyledons are usually poor in these compounds, in some cases, they can emit terpenoids as a defense against insects [13]
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