Pacelli, Giovanmaria (2025) Verso un nuovo paradigma della nutrizione bovina: diete personalizzate e prodotti animali funzionali attraverso i mangimi di precisione. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Abstract

The dairy sector is currently facing a dual challenge: on the one hand, ensuring efficiency, sustainability, and animal welfare, and on the other, enhancing milk not only as an energetic and nutritional product but also as a functional and nutraceutical food. In recent years, consumers’ growing awareness of the link between diet and health has driven research to explore the possibility of naturally enriching milk composition with bioactive molecules capable of exerting positive effects on human health. Within this framework, the present doctoral thesis was conceived with the main objective of investigating how technological, managerial, and nutritional factors can modulate the quality of bovine milk, thereby contributing to the development of innovative strategies for a modern, sustainable, and value-oriented dairy industry. To address this complex objective, the research was structured into four distinct yet complementary experiments, designed as consecutive stages of a unified methodological pathway. The first experiment tackled the upstream segment of the supply chain, focusing on processing techniques applied to raw materials intended for feed formulation. In particular, different grinding and pelleting systems were analyzed, assessing their impact on particle size, physical resistance of the pellets, and nutrient availability. This phase provided the technological foundation necessary to design feeds that are not only nutritionally adequate but also capable of acting as functional modulators of milk production. The second experiment shifted the focus from feed to the managerial and technological context of the farm, with a particular emphasis on milking systems. The comparison between conventional and robotic milking made it possible to monitor, over time, productive, reproductive, and health parameters of the herd, together with milk quality. Including this dimension in the overall design reflects the awareness that milk production does not depend solely on diet but also on the environment and on management practices. The nutraceutical quality of milk is in fact the outcome of the interaction between multiple factors, and the technological choices adopted at the farm level actively contribute to defining its final characteristics. The third experiment represented the nutritional core of the research, directly assessing how feeding strategies can influence the presence of functional molecules in milk. Through the alternate administration of control and treated diets, significant variations were observed in the concentration of bioactive compounds such as carnitines and betaines, as well as an overall increase in antioxidant capacity. This phase demonstrated the potential of nutrition as a lever to naturally enrich milk composition, conferring added functional value to a traditional food. Particularly relevant was the finding that these improvements were achieved without compromising productive performance, suggesting that targeted nutritional strategies can effectively be integrated into routine farm practices without negative side effects. The fourth experiment constituted the final stage of the pathway, dedicated to field validation in different dairy farming contexts. After establishing the technological, managerial, and nutritional premises, an innovative feed was developed and tested in three pilot farms. This trial made it possible to verify the transferability of the results obtained in the previous phases, assessing their impact under real production conditions. The collected data confirmed that the innovative feed could increase digestive efficiency, stimulate dry matter intake, reduce nitrogen losses, and enrich the nutraceutical profile of milk. In addition, positive outcomes emerged at the managerial and sustainability levels, confirming the practical relevance and potential applicability of the proposed model. Taken together, the four experiments delineate a coherent trajectory, ranging from the optimization of feed processing techniques to on-farm validation of a functional feed, while also addressing managerial aspects and nutritional insights. This methodological progression reflects the intent to approach the complexity of dairy production through an integrated and multidisciplinary framework, avoiding reductionist interpretations and instead highlighting the interactions among the various factors involved. The results demonstrate that dairy production can be oriented toward a new dimension in which quality, sustainability, and health converge. In conclusion, this doctoral research proposes an innovative model of dairy farming based on the integration of technology, management, and nutrition, aimed at producing milk naturally enriched with bioactive molecules. The thesis shows how it is possible to transform a traditional food into a functional food with high added value, meeting the new expectations of consumers and the global challenges of sustainability. This approach represents an original contribution to research and paves the way for further developments that may consolidate and expand the acquired knowledge, fostering the diffusion of innovative practices throughout the dairy supply chain.

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