Evaluation of the Nutritive Value and the Fatty Acid, Phenol, Tannin and Terpenoid Contents of Nine Pastures in an Alpine District during the Summer Season

Pier Giorgio Peiretti, Sonia Tassone, Narges Vahdani, Giovanna Battelli and Francesco Gai
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Pier Giorgio Peiretti: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Sonia Tassone: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Sciences, University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Narges Vahdani: Animal Science Department, Faculty College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, PO Box 31535-1897, Iran
Giovanna Battelli: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council, 20133 Milan, Italy
Francesco Gai: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: A study was conducted over the summer of 2014 on nine Alpine pastures in the Chisone and Susa Valleys (NW Italy). The aim was to characterize the variation in the chemical composition, gross energy, in vitro true digestibility (IVTD), in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD), fatty acids (FA), total phenols, total and condensed tannin contents, and terpenoid profile. The dry matter, ash, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, lignin, and gross energy contents of the pastures were found to differ. All the pastures had good IVTD (706–829 g/kg DM) and NDFD (487–694 g/kg NDF) values. The most abundant FAs in all the pastures were α-linolenic (354–519 g/kg of the total FAs), linoleic (75–110 g/kg of the total FAs), and palmitic acid (64–89 g/kg of the total FAs) and they differed significantly among pastures. No significant differences were found in the total phenols, or in the total and condensed tannin contents among pastures. Fifty-eight terpenoids were detected and 4-cyclopentene-1, 3-dione, β-caryophyllene, and eucalyptol were the most abundant. The terpenoids differed both qualitatively and quantitatively among pastures. The results highlight the importance of the great biodiversity of pastures, which provide a balanced distribution of fundamental nutritional elements and bioactive compounds in grasslands.

Keywords: chemical composition; digestibility; nutritive value; grassland; bioactive compound (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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