Effects of Dietary Omega-3 Enrichment on the Chemical Composition and the Pathogenic Microbiota of Ovine Milk
Athina Tzora,
Chrysoula (Chrysa) Voidarou,
Ilias Giannenas,
Eleftherios Bonos,
Konstantina Fotou,
Aikaterini Nelli,
Katerina Grigoriadou,
Achilleas Karamoutsios,
Zoitsa Basdagianni,
Stella Dokou,
Anastasios Tsinas,
Ioannis Skoufos
Affiliations
Athina Tzora
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Chrysoula (Chrysa) Voidarou
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Ilias Giannenas
Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Eleftherios Bonos
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Konstantina Fotou
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Aikaterini Nelli
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Katerina Grigoriadou
Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization—DEMETER, Thermi, 570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece
Achilleas Karamoutsios
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Zoitsa Basdagianni
Laboratory of Animal Husbandry, Department of Animal Production, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Stella Dokou
Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Anastasios Tsinas
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
Ioannis Skoufos
Laboratory of Animal Health, Food Hygiene and Quality, Department of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, 471 32 Arta, Greece
The demand for ovine milk and ovine dairy products is constantly increasing due to their exceptional sensorial characteristics and their health benefits for consumers. However, dairy fat content and composition are of particular concern for consumers as well as the medical community, as there are risk factors for coronary disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and other serious diseases. For this reason, attempts have been made to control/regulate the fat composition of ovine milk by modifying sheep dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In this experimental trial, a group of sheep were fed for 30 days a diet enriched in flaxseeds and lupines, feed ingredients rich in omega-3 fatty acids, aiming to investigate the effects on fat composition and the microbiota of ovine milk. Chemical analysis of the collected milk showed that the omega-3 and omega-6 content was increased. On the opposite, the atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes decreased. Of importance was the semi-protective effect on the udder by the increased omega-3 dietary intake, as depicted by its impact on the biodiversity of the pathogenic microbiota. These findings suggest that ovine milk could be modified under specific conditions to be more appropriate for the consumption by people belonging to high-risk groups for various diseases.
