## 3 Results and Discussion
### Milk Fatty Acid Composition
Diet was shown to have a significant effect on the total proportion of saturated fatty acids (SFA), which was highest in PALM and lowest in the CONC milk. CONC milk had significantly lower SFA than that of BEET (\(P=0.044\)) and PALM (\(P=0.006\)), while SOYA also had significantly lower SFA than that of PALM (\(P=0.019\)). Diary fat has been the subject of negative consumer attention in the past particularly attributed to its high levels of SFA. However, while particular SFA such as lauric, myristic, and palmitic acid in isolation can increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol concentrations, milk is a matrix of other components that have an array of potential benefits including increasing the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol [21; 22]. In fact, meta-analyses of the topic have concluded that milk and dairy products consumption have at least a neutral effect on health outcomes [23], and may protect against prevalent chronic diseases [24]. However more recent data suggests health considerations of products based on SFA alone can often be misinformed. The level of SFA in milk has significant implications for the functional characteristics and processability of high-fat dairy products. Recent studies have demonstrated that increased SFA (particularly C16:0) results in significant alterations to hardness and textural properties of dairy products [4; 6]. The C16:0 content was highest in BEET-derived milk, which was significantly greater than that of PALM milk (\(P=0.013\)). Palmitic acid (C16:0) is the most abundant SFA in bovine milk; increased proportions of C16:0 in BEAT-derived milks corresponds with higher contents of C16:0 in the BEET diet (Table 5). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{**Fatty Acid Indices**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**CONC**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**PALM**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**SOYA**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{**BEET**} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\(P\)**-Value**} \\ \hline  
De novo (C4–C14)_** & \(28.87\pm 0.29\) & \(32.82\pm 0.52\) & \(29.40\pm 0.28\) & \(29.42\pm 0.06\) & \(<\)0.001 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{SFA: saturated fatty acids; UFA: unsaturated fatty acids; PUFA: poly unsaturated fatty acids; MUFA: mono-unsaturated fatty acids; TI: thrombogenic; AI: atherogenic; LA: linoleic acid.} \\ \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 8: Indices of fatty acid profiles from milks derived from cows fed a pasture diet supplemented with CONC, PALM, SOYA, or BEET. Among total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), CONC diet resulted in significantly higher UFA than that of PALM (\(P\) = 0.001). PALM diet resulted in milk with significantly lower poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than that of BEET, CONC, and SOYA (\(P\)\(\leq\) 0.001). Among dairy PUFA, the isomer conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) c9t11 has been studied for potential health benefits and biological functions, which include impacting immune function and protective effects against cancer, obesity, and atherosclerosis ([PERSON], 2015). The fatty acid CLAc9t11 is produced via the biohydrogenation of linoleic acid in the rumen by rumen microorganisms ([PERSON], 2015). Therefore, CLAc9t11 in milk is highly dependent on the cow feeding system used ([PERSON], 2015) and the level of fatty acid substrate available has a direct effect on the its subsequent levels in milk. PALM feeding of cows resulted in milk with significantly reduced CLAc9t11 than that of BEET (\(P\) = 0.002), CONC (\(P\)\(\leq\) 0.001), and SOYA (\(P\) = 0.001) milks. This result can be attributed to the substantially lower levels of linoleic acid in the feed supplement of PALM compared to the other diets (Table 5). Diet did not have a significant effect of the total level of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) of milk (\(P\) = 0.08). Among the total content of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), PALM milk had significantly higher SCFA than that of BEET, CONC, and SOYA (\(P\)\(\leq\) 0.001).