13TSB_N4L2FS: Development of silage inoculants to improve mineral composition of animal products

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Consumers have an increasing fascination with the food they eat with a subsequent increase in demand for healthier, more nutritional functional food. This project will develop novel animal products which will increase the supply of bioavailable nutrients to the consumer reducing the reliance on dietary supplements. Se is essential for humans as a constituent of more than two dozen seleno-proteins which play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis and protection from oxidative damage. Inadequate intakes of bioavailable Se are common in people living in Se-deficient regions, vegetarians and vegans. Se deficiency is also seen in patients' under-going kidney dialysis, people living with HIV and the elderly due to removal of Se through dialysis, increased loss through diarrhoea and malabsorption. Se is available in multimineral supplements as inorganic sodium selenate or sodium selenite. However, the human body absorbs only 50 % of Se as either selenate or selenite compared to over 90 % of Se in the form of organic selenomethionine and selenocysteine (IFMNB, 2000). Good sources of organic Se in the human diet are from animal products such as dairy and ruminant meat. However variability in composition is large due to the nature of the Se status of the soil during grazing and also the low levels of minerals contained typically in ensiled forage. A 2005 report estimated that typical UK silage contained less than 21 % of the Se requirement for optimum livestock nutrition (FWL, 2005). It is therefore common to supplement ruminants with minerals in the form of inorganic Se. As with humans the bioavailability of the inorganic form is significantly less than organic Se requiring a higher dose. In addition the conversion of inorganic Se into milk and muscle seleno-protein is inefficient resulting in lower levels in animal products for human consumption. Therefore the ability to use a silage inoculant which incorporates Se as an organic form will naturally increase the supply of available Se to animals and enrich products with a highly bioavailable form of the nutrient. As such the project will develop a novel method of nutrient delivery by enhancing organic Se in animal products. It will also develop a novel healthier food which will allow greater absorption of organic Se without the need for dietary supplementation through inorganic mineral tablets. In addition an increase in Se in animal products through greater antioxidant capacity will improve product shelf life and reduce waste.