The effects of the isocaloric replacement of starch in a low-fat concentrate mixture by either 5 or 10% ‘stearic acid’ (85% pure) or 10% ‘palmitic acid’ (85% pure) on the yield and composition of milk fat were investigated in a feeding experiment with 12 cows in mid-lactation. The concentrate mixtures were given with a highroughage diet that supplied daily 4·4kg of hay and 2·7kg of sugar-beet pulp.

The inclusion of 5 or 10% ‘stearic acid’ in the concentrate mixture decreased the concentrations and yields of 10:0, 12:0, 14:0, 14:1, 16:0 and 16:1 in the milk fat but increased the concentrations and yields of 18:0 and 18:1. When the concentrate mixture contained 10% ‘stearic acid’ the decreases in the yields of the shorter chain acids and the increases in the yields of 18:0 and 18:1 in the milk fat were more pronounced than when the concentrate mixture contained 5% ‘stearic acid’. The inclusion of 10% ‘stearic acid’ in the concentrate mixture also decreased the concentrations of 6:0 and 18:2 in the milk fat. The inclusion of 10% ‘palmitic acid’ in the concentrate mixture decreased the concentrations of 6:0, 8:0, 10:0, 12:0, 14:0, 14:1, 18:0 and 18:2 in the milk fat but increased the concentrations of 16:0 and 16:1. This dietary treatment also reduced the yields of 6:0, 10:0, 12:0, 14:0 and 18:2 but increased the yields of 4:0, 16:0 and 16:1 in the milk fat. The inclusion of 5% ‘stearic acid’ or 10% ‘palmitic acid’ in the concentrate mixture increased the yield of total milk fat.

The inclusion of 10% ‘palmitic acid’ or 10% ‘stearic acid’ in the concentrate mixture increased the relative proportions of propionic and iso-butyric acids in the rumen liquor but decreased the proportions of η-butyric and valeric acids. The inclusion of ‘stearic acid’ at the level of 5% in the concentrate mixture increased the relative proportions of iso-butyric and iso-valeric acids but decreased the proportion of butyric acid in the rumen liquor.