1036
Effect of sunflower oil, vitamin E and selenium inclusion in the diet of dairy cows on the sensory acceptability of milk
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of sunflower oil, vitamin E and selenium inclusion in the diet of dairy cows on the acceptance of sensory attributes of milk. Thirty-two Jersey cows in early lactation were divided into four experimental groups in a complete randomized design. The animals were randomly assigned to receive one of the following diets: 1) control (C, n = 8); 2) 3.5 mg selenium/kg dry matter (DM) + 3000 IU vitamin E/kg DM (SE, n = 8) ; 3) 4% inclusion of sunflower oil (total diet DM basis) (O, n = 8), 4) 4% inclusion of sunflower oil (total diet DM basis) + 3.5 mg selenium/kg DM + 3000 IU vitamin E/kg DM (OSE, n = 8). Prior to sensory evaluation, the milk was pasteurized. Sixty untrained tasters received the samples in complete blocks and used a nine-point hedonic scale for acceptance testing regarding the attributes color, odor, flavor and mouthfeel of milk and a scale of intensity difference of odor and flavor for the test of difference from the control. Data were submitted to ANOVA analysis of variance and Tukey test was conducted to compare means, to the level of 5% of significance using the PROC MIXED of SAS version 9.1. In the test of difference from the control, no difference (p > 0.05) between milk from cows fed the C diet and those from cows fed the SE, O and OSE diets was observed for the evaluated attributes - odor and flavor. The acceptability of the commercial milk color was higher (p < 0.05) when compared to the other dietary treatments (8.10 vs. C = 6.56; SE = 5.73; O = 6.51; OSE = 7.03). The attributes odor, flavor and mouthfeel showed no effect of dietary treatment (p > 0.05) in acceptance by the consumer. These results demonstrate the feasibility to produce milk from cows supplemented with sunflower oil , selenium and vitamin E.
Keywords: antioxidants, consumers acceptance, dairy