Prof. Robert Kupczyński from the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław received almost PLN 1.3 million from the Opus program of the National Science Center for researching the use of natural compounds, such as essential oils or polyphenolic compounds in animal prevention, nutrition and environmental protection.

Essential oils are volatile hydrophobic mixtures of secondary metabolites obtained from plants. They are used in health care, the food industry and cosmetology, but more and more often they are also used in animal production, where they are used as antimicrobial and antiparasitic agents. They also improve the digestibility of feed and reduce methane emissions.

Prof. Kupczyński will deal with the influence of selected essential oils and their mixtures on the rumen microbiome of cows, biohydrogenation of fatty acids, methanogenesis as well as metabolism and functional features of milk, including the fatty acid profile and its aroma.