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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 75(12)

Profiling the omega-3 content of annual and perennial forages during growth and development and the relationship with other quality parameters

E. H. Clayton https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3302-3781 A * , T. J. Dale A , P. Orchard B , H. M. Burns A , W. M. Pitt A , S. M. Hildebrand A and J. B. Ward C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.

B School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.

C ‘Illawong’, 253 Bowna Road, Table Top, NSW 2644, Australia.

* Correspondence to: Edward.Clayton@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Handling Editor: Youhong Song

Crop & Pasture Science 75, CP24046 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP24046
Submitted: 29 February 2024  Accepted: 31 October 2024  Published: 21 November 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Omega-3 in pasture-fed beef and lamb is related to its availability in the forage species grazed. The variation in omega-3 content of several forages has been examined in the USA and UK, but not in south-eastern Australia across different stages of maturity.

Aims

This study aimed to determine the change in omega-3, at different stages of plant development, in four species of forage commonly grazed by ruminants in south-eastern Australia.

Methods

Four species, oats (Avena sativa L. cv. Eurabbie), annual ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. Rambo), phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L. cv HoldfastGT) and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterrraneum L. cv. Coolamon) were grown in a replicated pot trial and harvested at seven stages of maturity corresponding to early vegetative, late vegetative, stem elongation, boot, anthesis, soft dough and ripening for oats, phalaris and ryegrass, or relative to day of flowering in clover. Proximate analysis and the concentration of fatty acids including C18:3n-3 and C18:2n-6 as well as the ratio of n-6:n-3 was determined.

Key results

The mean (±s.e.) proportion of C18:3n-3 was highest in clover (50.6 ± 0.8), and higher in ryegrass (45.1 ± 0.5) and phalaris (44.0 ± 0.6) compared with oats (39.4 ± 0.5). Omega-3 proportion decreased with increasing maturity for oats (13.9 ± 0.86 vs 64.3 ± 0.68), ryegrass (17.3 ± 0.86 vs 68.2 ± 0.65) and phalaris (21.6 ± 1.63 vs 65.1 ± 0.79) but not to the same extent for sub clover (41.5 ± 1.38 vs 57.4 ± 0.79). The proportion of omega-3 was positively correlated with crude protein content.

Conclusions

Omega-3 levels decreased in forages during development and was positively related to crude protein content, which is likely associated with total leaf chloroplasts. Although crude protein content remained higher for clover compared with other species, this did not translate to a higher proportion of omega-3 for any crude protein level.

Implications

Grazing forages at earlier stages of maturity and maximising the amount of crude protein available for growth will increase the amount of omega-3 in plant material. The availability of this omega-3 for incorporation into meat and milk should be examined.

Keywords: beef meat, crude protein, fatty acid, grazing management, health benefits, lamb meat, omega-3, pasture quality.

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