Better postpartal performance in dairy cows supplemented with rumen-protected methionine compared with choline during the peripartal period

Abstract

The onset of lactation in dairy cows is characterized by high output of methylated compounds in milk when sources of methyl group are in short supply. Methionine and choline (CHOL) are key methyl donors and their availability during this time may be limiting for milk production, hepatic lipid metabolism, and immune function. Supplementing rumen-protected Met and CHOL may improve overall performance and health of transition cows. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplemental rumen-protected Met and CHOL on performance and health of transition cows. Eighty-one multiparous Holstein cows were used in a randomized, complete, unbalanced block design with 2×2 factorial arrangement of Met (Smartamine M, Adisseo NA, Alpharetta, GA) and CHOL (ReaShure, Balchem Inc., New Hampton, NY) inclusion (with or without). Treatments (20 to 21 cows each) were control (CON), CON+Met (SMA), CON+CHOL (REA), and CON+Met+CHOL (MIX). From -50 to -21d before expected calving, all cows received the same diet (1.40Mcal of NE/kg of DM) with no Met or CHOL. From -21d to calving, cows received the same close-up diet (1.52Mcal of NE/kg of DM) and were assigned randomly to treatments (CON, SMA, REA, or MIX) supplied as top dresses. From calving to 30 DIM, cows were fed the same postpartal diet (1.71Mcal of NE/kg of DM) and continued to receive the same treatments through 30 DIM. The Met supplementation was adjusted daily at 0.08% DM of diet and REA was supplemented at 60g/d. Incidence of clinical ketosis and retained placenta tended to be lower in Met-supplemented cows. Supplementation of Met (SMA, MIX) led to greater DMI compared with other treatments (CON, REA) in both close-up (14.3 vs. 13.2kg/d, SEM 0.3) and first 30d postpartum (19.2 vs. 17.2kg/d, SEM 0.6). Cows supplemented with Met (SMA, MIX) had greater yields of milk (44.2 vs. 40.4kg/d, SEM 1.2), ECM (44.6 vs. 40.5kg/d, SEM 1.0), and FCM (44.6 vs. 40.8kg/d, SEM 1.0) compared with other (CON, REA) treatments. Milk fat content did not differ in response to Met or CHOL. However, milk protein content was greater in Met-supplemented (3.32% vs. 3.14%, SEM 0.04%) but not CHOL-supplemented (3.27 vs. 3.19%, SEM 0.04%) cows. Supplemental CHOL led to greater blood glucose and insulin concentrations with lower glucose:insulin ratio. No Met or CHOL effects were detected for blood fatty acids or BHB, but a Met × time effect was observed for fatty acids due to higher concentrations on d 20. Results from the present study indicate that peripartal supplementation of rumen-protected Met but not CHOL has positive effects on cow performance.

Geçiş Dönemindeki Süt İneklerinde Metiyonin veya Korunmuş Kolin İlavesinin Laktasyon Performansını Geliştirmesi

“…For example, Zhou et al [2] observed an increase in prepartal and postpartal DMI with Smartamine M. Although Ordway et al [16] determined an increase in postpartal DMI with Metasmart supplementation, there is no differences in groups fed by Smartamine M. On the other hand, Socha et al [15] detected that there was no effect of feeding Smartamine M or Smartamine ML during the prepartum period on prepartum DMI during the last week of gestation. In the present study, differences in mean prepartum DMI were not determined; but postpartum DMI for MET and MIX treatments were significantly higher than for the CON treatment.…”

“…The effects of rumen-protected methionine supplementation on DMI in previous studies have been conflicted by some researchers [2,11,12,16] . For example, Zhou et al [2] observed an increase in prepartal and postpartal DMI with Smartamine M. Although Ordway et al [16] determined an increase in postpartal DMI with Metasmart supplementation, there is no differences in groups fed by Smartamine M. On the other hand, Socha et al [15] detected that there was no effect of feeding Smartamine M or Smartamine ML during the prepartum period on prepartum DMI during the last week of gestation.…”

“…Methionine or its analogue supplements have an important role in milk yield production [2,12,23] . In our study, methionine supplementation resulted in an increased milk yield and milk components whereas milk urea nitrogen was not significantly affected.…”

“…Some of the studies have detected a significant effect of methionine [2,11,12] or choline [13,14] supplementation though other studies did not determine beneficial improvements on peripartal production performance with methionine [15,16] or choline [8] .…”

“…The periparturient period (transition period), defined as 3 weeks before calving and 3-4 weeks postpartum, dairy cattle enter into a period of negative energy and metabolizable protein balance as a result of increased metabolic demand by the mammary gland and the low dry matter intake (DMI) [1,2] . Methyl donors are needed for the synthesis of important compounds such as phosphatidylcholine and carnitine [3] .…”