Seasonal variation of fatty acids in alpine butter

A previous study has shown the small variation in the concentration of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in alpine dairy products during the grazing period. The present study complements our knowledge of the influence of grazing period on the concentration of other fatty acids in alpine dairy products. Generally, the concentration of these fatty acids was also relatively stable during all the period except for a few particular fatty acids. For instance, the concentration of palmitic acid decreases and that of stearic acid increases at the beginning of the grazing period. It was also found that there was an increase in the concentration of C18:1 t10-11 fatty acids at the beginning of the season, a relatively small variation during the whole season followed by a decrease in these concentrations at the end of the summer. A similar trend was observed for the CLA.