Selenium supplementation of diets of dairy cows to produce Se-enriched cheese

Abstract

Selenium (Se) deficiency in people and animals is a nutritional problem in many regions of the world. Ten mid-lactation Estonian Red dairy cows were supplemented for 64 days with inorganic Se [0.39 mg kg−1 in total mixed ration (TMR)] followed by a 57-day period of supplementation with organic and inorganic Se (0.44 mg kg−1 in TMR), according to EU directives on maximum allowed amounts. Feeding organic Se increased Se content in blood (from 186.5 to 287.9 μg kg−1), milk (from 17.1 to 51.8 μg kg−1) and Edam-type cheese made there from (from 146 to 361 μg kg−1). Se content in milk after supplementation was high enough to produce a cheese enabling the nutrition claim “high in Se” and related health claims. The concentration of the main primary oxidation products of linoleic acid (oxylipins) was low and leukotoxin diols were found in trace amounts; the oxidative stability of cheeses was high.