From the Department of Dairy and Mai Science
This regular column from Penn State’s Department of Dairy and Ani
mal Science features the research findings, student opportunities, and
reports on other important topics generated in the Department. The back
issues of the column are archived on Lancaster Farming's Internet
www.lancasterfarming.com home page. Look for them.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid
In Dairy Products
Lawrence D. Muller
And
Janies E. Delahoy
Penn State University
There are many articles in the
popular pres., and scientific
journals that discuss the health
benefits of consuming dairy
products. In a recent magazine
article, milk and dairy products
were referred to as “wonder
foods” of the next millennium.
Numerous scientific papers are
also reporting the benefits of
dairy products in reducing risk of
osteoporosis, hypertension and
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arteriosclerosis and some forms of
cancer.
One component in milk which
is currently receiving much public
attention is conjugated, linoleic
acid, or CLA. Chemically, CLA
is a collective term to describe
one or more positional isomers of
the fatty acid linoleic acid. CLA
is a minor fatty acid naturally
found in the milk of ruminant
animals.
Scientists have known for
some time about the
anticarcinogemc effects of CLA,
but more recent research indicates
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that CLA may reduce the risk of
heart disease and prevent the
onset of diabetes While much of
this research has been conducted
with experimental animals,
studies are now reporting similar
findings in the laboratory with
human cells.
In addition, one long-term
study tracking the intake of dairy
products in women found that
there was an association between
increased consumption of dairy
products and a decreased
incidence of breast cancer Since
CLA is a natural anticarcinogen,
it may be partially responsible for
this decrease m incidence of
breast cancer.
These findings may provide
potential for increased profit for
dairy producers with the value
added pricing of milk Methods
of increasing the CLA content in
milk and other dairy products is
being evaluated worldwide. CLA
is produced by the bacterial
breakdown and conversion of
dietary fat in the rumen of the
dairy cow. A recent study
conducted at Penn State in
collaboration with Cornell found
a four-fold increase m the CLA
content in milk from cows fed
pasture compared to cows fed
TMR. Researchers in Wisconsin
reported a similar four-fold
increase
In general, feeding higher
forage diets results in increased
CLA content of milk, but not to
the same extent as when pasture is
the major forage Research has
found that in traditional feeding
systems, with TMR’s and stored
forages, feeding fat supplements
such as whole soybeans and
various types of vegetable oils
increases the CLA content in
milk. This increase may be due to
specific fats provided to the
rumen to make CLA.
Can these feeds and vegetable
oils further increase CLA content
in milk with pasture as the major
source of forage? Recent research
suggests this to be the case and
there is potential to increase CLA
concentrations beyond the 4 to 5
fold increase found with just
pasture. These changes in CLA
content in milk allow us to realize
an increased CLA intake without
increasing fat consumption, and
help to strike a balance between
dietary fat and CLA intake
The average CLA content of
milk in the grocery store is about
3tosmg of CLA/g of fat Since
CLA is a fat, the lower the fat
content of milk, the lower the
CLA content. Therefore, it
becomes essential to find a
V
% * J *
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, April 24, 1999-A25
balance between total fat
consumption and the intake ol
CLA.
Whole milk and milk (at
consumption have gradually
decreased Since cows aie
pastured less than they were 20 to
30 years ago, the intake of CLA,
the beneficial fatty acid that is
part of milk fat, has decreased
One recent article states, “the
beneficial fatty acid is a casualty
of animal diets, and the trend to
decreasing milk fat consumption ”
Some estimates suggest that
typical human diets provide 25%
of the needed CLA Increasing
the CLA content of milk may
increase the CLA available in the
normal diet without increasing
total fat content. This is good
news tor milk fat, and the dairy
industry may have the opportunity
to capitalize on CLA and change
the public’s perception of dairy
products
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(Turn to Page A 42)
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