Nutritive quality and fatty acid profile of Ravizzone (Brassica campestris L. var. Oleifera) seeds and plant during growth

Forage Brassica spp. have high quality and digestibility. It is important to define the nutritive quality and fatty acid (FA) profile of this type of crop during growth. The quality of Brassica forage changes according to its growth stage and an understanding of its evolution would enable cutting times to be planned, in order to optimise forage utilisation and to identify new sources of FAs for herbivores. Our aim was to study changes in the chemical composition, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and neutral detergent fibre digestibility (IVNDFD), gross energy, and FA profile of Ravizzone (RAV) (Brassica campestris L. var. Oleifera) seeds and plant samples collected from the vegetative through to the ripening stage. The evolution of RAV quality during growth is characterised by a progressive decrease in crude protein and IVDMD and an increase in dry matter and fibrous fractions, while the lowest value of IVNDFD was reached at the bud stage. The main FAs of the plant during growth were: α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3n-3), linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n-6), cis-10 heptadecenoic acid (C17:1), and palmitic acid (PA, C16:0). The most abundant FAs in the seed were oleic acid (OA, C18:1n-9), LA, ALA and PA. The chemical composition and FA profile of RAV is closely connected with the development of the plant. A forage with good nutritive value is still obtained even when harvesting RAV at the flower stage.