Economic impact of polyherbal mixtures containing choline, lysine and methionine on milk production and health of dairy cows

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the economic impact of supplementing dairy cows with mixtures of polyherbal products supplying conjugates of choline (BioCholine, BC), lysine (OptiLysine, L) and methionine (OptiMethionine, M), considering the costs of veterinary treatments, the nutraceutical effects of the mixtures, the partial cost and returns of milk production. Eighty postpartum Holstein cows were randomly assigned to individually receive. The pellets no containing (Control, 20 cows) and containing polyherbal products (g/d) (BC20, 19 cows; BC40, 17 cows; BC20+L40+M20, 12 cows, and BC40+L80+M40, 12 cows) were offered to cows during the milking through automatic feeders in the course of 90 days in a commercial farm. Treatment costs were grouped in terms of antibiotics, healing, anti-inflammatories, glucogenics, hormonal, intra-mammary treatments, restorative and vitamins. Milk production was not affected (P>0.05) by polyherbal additives but there were numerical differences in the number of treatments and costs; animal health cost per cow showed a high variation coefficient (average 347%). Cows receiving BC40 and BC20+L40+M20 had reduced animal health cost per cow but only the treatment BC40 showed residual effects post experiment with an economic improvement of 2.1% over the control group, showing benefits associated to a reduction in the number of doses with antibiotics and doses of immune-stimulants. Cows receiving BC40 had the best milk yield numerically in combination with the lower number of animal health costs which resulted in the highest income.

A Polyherbal Mixture with Nutraceutical Properties for Ruminants: A Meta-Analysis and Review of BioCholine Powder

“…The Defa 14 gene is an antimicrobial peptide found in the skin, intestinal mucosal, and respiratory tract and has been related to antimicrobial and antiviral properties [ 73 ]. Ontological analysis and specific genes make it possible to explain the improvements in health and immune response observed in the experiments in which these indicators were evaluated [ 29 , 41 , 47 ].…”

“…Microarrays allow for a better understanding of the genome and transcriptome, as shown by evaluating all genes in the phenomenon studied [ 78 ]. The overall results in pathways allow us to explain the improvements in performance parameters in sheep [ 28 , 35 , 37 , 43 , 44 ], antioxidant status [ 36 ], and immune response and cattle health [ 41 , 47 ].…”

“…In another experiment, high-producing Holstein cows supplemented with BioCholine (20 g/d n = 19, 40 g/d n = 17, control n = 20) and other combinations of polyherbals for 90 days since 30 days postpartum showed no response in milk production or composition; however, health indicators were improved, reducing treatment costs (antibiotics, healing, anti-inflammatories, glucogenesis, hormones, intra-mammary treatments, restorative treatments, and vitamins) and being more profitable than the dose of 40 g/d BioCholine. Beneficial residual effects in veterinary expenses and milk production were also detected up to 90 days post-supplementation [ 47 ].…”

“…The combined analysis of the four experiments for milk production showed an increment ( p < 0.01) of +0.59 in SE ( Table 11 ), and the differences between experiments suggest that the number of replications, days of the experiment, and production level may be a factor affecting the response to BioCholine. Only in two treatments were numerical values observed below those of the supplemented cows [ 46 , 47 ]. There are known differences in the patterns of DNA methylation in mammary gland tissues within Canadian Holstein cows with different milk compositions [ 95 ], and DNA methylation and milk yield can likely explain the different responses to the polyherbal summarized in Table 11 .…”

Influence of supplemental choline on milk yield, fatty acid profile, and weight changes in postpartum ewes and their offspring

“…The insufficient choline supply in growing lambs and high-yielding lactating animals' diets has been shown by rumen-protected choline (RPC) supplementation studies, despite the undefined requirement for choline in sheep [10,11]. Compared to the control group, about 16.7% faster suckling lamb growth Available at www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.17/June-2024/10.pdf for lactating ewes was achieved with rumen-protected methionine, choline, and betaine supplementation [12].…”