Production, Chemical Composition, And Fatty Acid Profile Of Milk From Buffaloes Fed With Cupuacu (Theobroma Grandiflorum) Cake And Murumuru (Astrocaryum Murumuru) Cake In The Eastern Amazon

The objective was to evaluate the effect of concentrate supplementation using by-products of the Amazonian industry on milk production, milk composition, and milk fatty acid profile of dairy buffaloes. Twelve lactating buffaloes (544.5 +/- 35.6 kg, 6.4 +/- 2.2 years old, 59 +/- 6 days in milk) were allotted in a pasture of Mombaca grass and managed under rotational grazing (4 days occupancy/28 days rest). A 3 x 3 Latin square was adopted, and each animal alternately received three supplementary treatments based on corn bran + soybean meal or cupuacu cake or murumuru cake for 21 days per treatment. Murumuru cake increased the levels of lauric acid and myristic acid in the milk (p < 0.05). Murumuru cake reduced the unsaturated fatty acid contents in the milk compared with animals fed control diet or cupuacu cake (24.27% vs. 25.24% vs. 25.08%). The n-6/n-3 ratio was 2.6, 1.97, and 2.0 in the control, cupuacu, and murumuru groups, respectively. Based on this parameter, cakes made from cupuacu as well as murumuru could be considered to be adequate for inclusion in dairy water buffalo feed. However, the murumuru cake addition requires some caution because its use induces the secretion of higher levels of lauric and myristic fatty acids that are related to human cardiovascular disease.