Volac fat products – features and benefits

8 December 2011

Volac produce a range of fat products targeted to meet specific objectives on individual farms. All our products are based on calcium salts of fatty acids and our main product, Megalac, was the first rumen-protected fat product developed using saponification as a method of rumen protection for the fatty acids. Through our links with Cambridge University in the UK, Volac worked with Profs. Palmquist and Jenkins at Ohio State University in the USA to utilise their newly-developed technology to develop the Megalac product which has remained the world’s leading protected fat for over 25 years.

Volac’s range of protected fat-based products include :

• Megalac - calcium salts of palm fatty acid distillate
• Megalac Plus - standard Megalac but including 3% protected methionine
• Megafat - a high-C16:0 product targeted to increase milk fat %, milk production and fertility
• Megapro 30S - protected (sustainably-sourced) fat and protected protein in ideal balance
• Flaxpro - protected fat with omega-3 fatty acids for fertility and milk production

Why protected fat ?

Protected fat is essential in rations to increase dietary fat concentration. Unprotected fat e.g. vegetable oils and high-oil ingredients such as brewers grains, reduce fibre digestibility and are directly toxic to some strains of rumen bacteria. These ‘free’ oils can also lead to the production of trans fatty acids which reduce milk fat %.

Megalac protected fat

Megalac is produced by a saponification reaction in which fatty acids from the palm oil industry are reacted with calcium (Ca). This produces rumen-insoluble, rumen-inert Ca salts of fatty acids which have no negative effects on rumen fibre digestion or rumen function, unlike ‘free’, unprotected oils.

The fatty acid profile of Megalac is (% of total fatty acids) :

=C14      -  <2 %

C16:0     -  48 %

C18:0     -  5 %

C18:1     -  36 %

C18:2     -  9 %

Megalac works according to acid / alkali differences. At rumen pH (ideally >6.0) the Ca salts are stable, but when they enter the acidic conditions of the small intestine the product breaks down into its constituent fat and Ca components – both of these components are then available to the animal for absorption.

The balance of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in Megalac, the content and delivery of C18:1 fatty acids to the small intestine, and the fact that the fat is present as free fatty acids rather than triglycerides helps ensure the product has a high digestibility; digestibility has been determined at 96% in dairy cows.

Megalac delivers unsaturated fatty acids to the small intestine and can increase digestibility of the total fat and other components in the diet.

The ME of Megalac is 33.3 MJ/kg DM; this is approximately 2.5 times the energy concentration of typical cereals.

Megalac is the only fat product with a measured NEL value. This value was determined in calorimetric chambers with milk producing cows in the USA. The NEL of Megalac is 27.3 MJ/kg DM, proving that the energy in Megalac is used very efficiently for milk production.

Megalac has been widely proven in independent research studies over the past 25 years to increase milk production. A recent study at the University of Reading (UK) reported an improvement in milk yield of 4.3 kg/day when cows were offered Megalac at 500 g/cow/day for the first 120 days in lactation, an increase of over 500 kgs per cow (Figure 1). The average milk yield response to supplementation is 2.3 kg/cow/day. 

Figure 1  Effect of Megalac on milk production (Aikman et al., 2008)

Megalac can be added to rations to help reduce heat stress in dairy cows and other ruminant animals. As it is not fermented in the rumen and the energy is used very efficiently for milk production, Megalac can help reduce metabolic heat production and has a lower heat increment than other ingredients.

As a rumen-protected fat, Megalac does not add to the acid load in the rumen. Unlike rapidly fermented cereal starches, Megalac is a very ‘safe’ method of increasing energy density and can help reduce the incidence and extent of acidosis.

Megalac is well-proven to improve cow fertility (Table 1). Feeding Megalac increases dietary energy density to help reduce negative energy balance in the early lactation period when dry matter intake is limited. A 500 g/d supplement of Megalac typically increases energy density by 0.5 MJ/kg DM. Reducing negative energy balance is a key factor in helping reduce body condition score loss which is closely related to fertility.

Megalac has positive effects on follicle growth and improves quality and viability of ovulated eggs, increasing the chance of a successful pregnancy. Supplementing with Megalac is an effective method of increasing progesterone concentration in blood plasma; adequate progesterone, ‘the hormone of pregnancy’, is essential to ensure successful pregnancy.

Recent research has demonstrated the importance of fatty acid profile of fat supplements in improving cow fertility. Megalac protected fat delivers unsaturated fatty acids to the small intestine which can help improve cow fertility.

Table 1  Effect of feeding Megalac on cow fertility (Garcia-Bojalil et al., 1998)

As almost half the fatty acids in Megalac are unsaturated and in rumen-protected form, inclusion of Megalac in rations can effectively reduce the proportion of saturated fatty acids in milk fat and increase the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, particularly C18:1.  

Megalac Plus

Megalac Plus offers all the benefits of Megalac but also includes rumen bypass methionine. This product is targeted to help alleviate the typical methionine deficiency in dairy diets; methionine is one of the first limiting amino acids and supplementation with protected methionine can help improve milk production efficiency and milk composition (milk protein % and milk fat %).

Megafat

Megafat is a high-C16:0 fat supplement targeted to produce a specific increase in milk fat %. Megafat also contains a proportion of fatty acids from Megalac to stimulate milk yield and fertility and has a high ME (34 MJ/kg DM). Megafat contains a unique mix of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in rumen-protected form, differentiating it from all other high C16 products on the market.

Megapro 30S

Megapro 30S provides protected fat (30%) and rumen-bypass protein (23%; 70% bypass) in the recommended balance. The product is based on rapeseed meal and contains the ideal ratio of lysine and methionine essential amino acids (3:1). The oil component is sourced entirely from sustainable sources.

Flaxpro

Flaxpro is a combination of rumen-protected fat from Megalac and a concentrated source of omega-3 fatty acids from linseed, designed to improve specific fertility issues and increase milk production. The product contains 50% fat and 15% high quality protein and has an ME of 23 MJ/kg DM.

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