Effect of supplementing essential fatty acids to pregnant nonlactating Holstein cows and their preweaned calves on calf performance, immune response, and health

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the effect of supplementing saturated or unsaturated fatty acids (FA) during late gestation of cows and during the preweaning period of calves on growth, health, and immune responses of calves. During the last 8wk of pregnancy, Holstein cattle (n=96) were fed no fat supplement (control), a saturated FA (SFA) supplement enriched in C18:0, or an unsaturated FA supplement enriched in the essential FA linoleic acid. Newborn calves were fed a milk replacer (MR) with either low linoleic acid (LLA; coconut oil) or high linoleic acid (HLA; coconut oil and porcine lard) concentration as the sole feedstuff during the first 30d. A grain mix with minimal linoleic acid was offered between 31 and 60d of life. At 30 and 60d of life, concentrations of linoleic acid in plasma were increased in calves born from dams supplemented with essential FA compared with SFA (44.0 vs. 42.5% of total FA) and in calves consuming HLA compared with LLA MR (46.3 vs. 40.8% of total FA). Total n-3 FA concentration was increased in plasma of calves fed HLA compared with LLA MR (1.44 vs. 1.32%) primarily due to increased α-linolenic acid. Prepartum supplementation with SFA tended to improve dry matter intake (48.8 vs. 46.7kg) and improved average daily gain (0.50 vs. 0.46kg/d) by calves without affecting efficiency of gain or circulating concentrations of anabolic metabolites or hormones. Increasing mean intake of linoleic acid from approximately 4.6 to 11.0g/d during the first 60d of life increased average daily gain (0.50 vs. 0.45kg/d) without a change in dry matter intake, thus improving feed efficiency (0.63 vs. 0.59kg of gain/kg of dry matter intake). Improved weight gain in calves fed HLA MR was accompanied by increased or tendency to increase plasma concentrations of glucose (92.7 vs. 89.9g/dL) and insulin-like growth factor I (59.5 vs. 53.2g/dL), increased hematocrit (36.0 vs. 34.4%) and concentration of blood lymphocytes (4.61 vs. 4.21×10(3)/μL), lowered plasma concentrations of acid-soluble protein (78.8 vs. 91.3mg/L) and blood platelets (736 vs. 822×10(3)/μL), and increased production of IFN-γ by peripheral blood mononuclear cells at 30d of age (48.1 vs. 25.6pg/mL), possibly indicating an earlier development of the immune system. Partial replacement of coconut oil with porcine lard in MR improved calf performance and some aspects of immunity.

Supplementation of essential fatty acids to Holstein calves during late uterine life and first month of life alters hepatic fatty acid profile and gene expression

“…Unchanged concentrations of plasma haptoglobin and trend for reduced acid-soluble protein also are indicative that calves fed HLA were not undergoing sickness events (Table 7). Moreover, the trend for increased IFN-γ by stimulated immune cells in vitro (Table 7) may support the hypothesis that calves fed HLA MR had an enhanced ability to mount a proinflammatory response (Garcia et al, 2014b(Garcia et al, , 2015.…”

“…Previously, we reported that linoleic and α-linolenic acids fed to preweaned calves improved their performance and enhanced a proinflammatory response by their immune cells. Moreover, as previously reported (Jenkins and Kramer, 1986), percentages of essential FA in plasma and liver reflected the FA composition of the milk replacer (MR) fed to preweaned calves (Garcia et al, 2014b(Garcia et al, , 2015, as well as affecting the percentage of other longer-chain FA. Therefore, strategic supplementation of FA was expected to modify the FA profile of different tissues and, by either direct or indirect effects, alter cell function.…”

“…Birth, housing, and feeding management of calves are described in Garcia et al (2014b). Briefly, male calves (n = 40) were blocked by dam diet and assigned randomly to receive a MR (Land O'Lakes, Webster City, IA) containing concentrations of low linoleic acid (LLA; 0.48% linoleic acid, dietary DM basis or 2.9% linoleic acid, FA basis; Table 1) or high linoleic acid (HLA; 1.54% linoleic acid, dietary DM basis or 9.0%, FA basis) for 30 d starting at birth.…”

“…Milk replacer was the only feed for the first 30 d of calf life and was fed twice daily (0600 and 1230 h). Details of MR composition were described in Garcia et al (2014b). Likewise, procedures for hormonal, metabolic, and immune assays for calves were reported previously (Garcia et al 2014b).…”

Effect of supplementation fat during the last 3 weeks of uterine life and the preweaning period on performance, ruminal fermentation, blood metabolites, passive immunity and health of the newborn calf

“…In dairy cattle, dams supplemented with prepartum diets enriched in linoleic acid (10) or EPA and DHA (11) produced colostrum with greater concentrations of the respective supplemented FA compared with colostrum from non-supplemented cows. Furthermore, plasma of newborn dairy calves born from dams fed diets enriched in EPA and DHA (12) or linoleic acid (13) had increased concentrations of the FA fed to their dams. In beef cattle, plasma (30 or 60 d of age) and adipose tissue (60 d of age) of calves suckling dams supplemented with high-oleic or highlinoleic safflower seeds had increased concentrations of the supplemented FA in plasma and adipose tissue, compared with calves suckling non-supplemented dams (14) .…”