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Review
. 2021 Mar 17;11(3):856.
doi: 10.3390/ani11030856.

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed and Co-Products Inclusion in Diets for Dairy Ruminants: A Review

Lucia Bailoni  1 , Elisabetta Bacchin  1 , Angela Trocino  1 , Sheyla Arango  1
Affiliations
Review

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed and Co-Products Inclusion in Diets for Dairy Ruminants: A Review

Lucia Bailoni et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Recently, hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) was rediscovery as a plant that offers a wide variety of applications (textile, pharmaceuticals, construction, etc.), including also the use in animal and human nutrition. The inclusion of whole seeds and co-products obtained by processing of seeds (cake, meal, and oil) in the diets of farm animals can allow the transfer of bioactive substances to human food. Few publications are available on the use of hemp in dairy ruminants but some authors reported a positive effect on the fatty acids profile of milk and cheese with an increase of n-3 fatty acids and c9,t11 conjugated linoleic acid. The protein content, amino acids profile, and rumen undegradable protein (RUP) of hempseed and co-products of hemp appear interesting and suitable for ruminant nutrition. Negative effects of anti-nutritional factors (i.e., phytate) are not observed. However, the researches on the effects of the use of hempseed and co-products in diets for dairy ruminants do not allow to suggest optimal levels of inclusion. In addition, no data are published on the use of whole or part of the hemp plant as forage, as another possibility to use the hemp in the perspective of the circular economy.

Keywords: dairy ruminants; fatty acid profile; hemp; milk composition; milk yield.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Content of essential amino acids (g/100 of protein) in soybean, hemp, and rape seed [9] in comparison with the reference pattern of FAO/WHO/ONU [2] for human nutrition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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