Nutritional strategies to improve nutraceutical proprieties of milk: improvements on milk enterolactone and conjugated linoleic acid

Abstract

This study aimed to describe nutritional strategies to increase milk nutraceutical properties, including mainly strategies to increase the concentrations of enterolactone (EL) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Enterolactone and CLA are endogenously produced from dietary components and have been identified as nutraceutical compounds with the potential of improving human health through the prevention and treatment of diseases. The concentration of these compounds in milk can be modulated through nutritional strategies which enable to produce milk with greater potential for improving human health. The inclusion of vegetable lignans sources, such as flaxseed meal and the inclusion of sucrose sources in the diet of dairy cows increase the concentration of EL in milk. Feeding sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as vegetable oils, results in increased concentration of CLA in milk. The application of animal nutrition to increase nutraceutical properties of milk is a valuable tool for promoting the association of milk with human health benefits and is of interest.