Heating Drinking Water in Cold Season Improves Growth Performance via Enhancing Antioxidant Capacity and Rumen Fermentation Function of Beef Cattle

Abstract

The research aimed to investigate the suitable drinking water temperature in winter and its effect on the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and rumen fermentation function of beef cattle. A total of 40 beef cattle (640 ± 19.2 kg) were randomly divided into five treatments with eight cattle in each treatment raised in one pen according to initial body weight. Each treatment differed only in the temperature of drinking water, including the room-temperature water and four different heat water groups named RTW, HW_1, HW_2, HW_3, and HW_4. The measured water temperatures were 4.39 ± 2.546 °C, 10.6 ± 1.29 °C, 18.6 ± 1.52 °C, 26.3 ± 1.70 °C, and 32.5 ± 2.62 °C, respectively. The average daily gain (ADG) showed a significant linear increase during d 0 to 60 and a quadratic increase during d 31 to 60 with rising water temperature (p < 0.05), and the highest ADG of 1.1911 kg/d was calculated at a water temperature of 23.98 °C (R2 = 0.898). The average rectal temperature on d 30 (p = 0.01) and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (p < 0.01) increased linearly with increasing water temperature. Additionally, HW_2 reduced serum triiodothyronine, thyroxine, and malondialdehyde (p < 0.05), and increased serum total antioxidant capacity (p < 0.05) compared with RTW. Compared with HW_2, RTW had unfavorable effects on ruminal propionate, total volatile fatty acids, and cellulase concentrations (p < 0.05), and lower relative mRNA expression levels of claudin-4 (p < 0.01), occludin (p = 0.02), and zonula occludens-1 (p = 0.01) in the ruminal epithelium. Furthermore, RTW had a higher abundance of Prevotella (p = 0.04), Succinivibrionaceae_UCG-002 (p = 0.03), and Lachnospiraceae_UCG-004 (p = 0.03), and a lower abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae (p < 0.01) and Marinilabiliaceae (p = 0.05) in rumen compared to HW_2. Taken together, heated drinking water in cold climates could positively impact the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant capacity, and rumen fermentation function of beef cattle. The optimal water temperature for maximizing ADG was calculated to be 23.98 °C under our conditions. Ruminal propionate and its producing bacteria including Prevotella, Succinivibrionaceae, and Lachnospiraceae might be important regulators of rumen fermentation of beef cattle drinking RTW under cold conditions.

Effects of Heated Drinking Water during the Cold Season on Serum Biochemistry, Ruminal Fermentation, Bacterial Community, and Metabolome of Beef Cattle

“…Increased concentrations of acetate, propionate, isobutyrate, and T-VFAs were observed in the HW group, which partly agreed with recent in vivo and in vitro reports, demonstrating that drinking cold water or periodically lowering the in vitro incubation temperature led to decreased propionate and T-VFA concentrations in rumen or broth liquid [17,32]. Given that propionate served as a crucial substrate for gluconeogenesis and played a vital role in sustaining energy homeostasis in vivo [33], the observed reduction in ruminal propionate in the RTW group could correspond to an augmented need for propionate uptake to facilitate gluconeogenesis during cold conditions.…”

“…The relative abundance of Firmicutes was decreased in the RTW group, which mainly degraded the cellulose and were recognized as beneficial gut bacteria vital for herbivores’ health and growth [ 36 , 37 ], indicating that heating drinking water in winter is beneficial for beef cattle. Additionally, the RTW diminished Prevotella , norank_f_p-215-o5 , and Succinivibrionaceae , consistent with the findings of He et al [ 32 ] and Cui et al [ 38 ]. The prominence of Prevotella , principally engaged in degrading non-structural carbohydrates and fostering propionate production [ 39 ], aligns with the hypothesis that cold water intake induced beef cattle’s augmented energy requirements during cooler periods.…”

Organized natural air exchange in the premises for the maintenance of animals

“…During the cold season, due to the low outdoor temperature, they are closed most of the time, so this factor is not taken into account in this study. The relative location of supply and exhaust vents determines the efficiency of ventilation systems [7], which should exclude undesirable factors affecting the productivity and health of animals: drafts [8], acute and chronic cold stress of livestock [9], hypothermia of feed and water [10]. Windows along the long sides of the building are taken as supply openings, and aeration lights act as exhaust openings.…”

Dietary Supplementation of Tannic Acid Promotes Performance of Beef Cattle via Alleviating Liver Lipid Peroxidation and Improving Glucose Metabolism and Rumen Fermentation

“…Oxidative stress in beef cattle, mainly induced by factors such as diet composition [ 14 , 15 ], rearing environment [ 16 ], and transportation [ 17 ], might be experienced throughout their growth and development, which could highly impair the growth performance and meat quality of beef cattle [ 14 ]. Current research on TAN in ruminants mainly focuses on methane (CH 4 ) emission [ 5 ] and nitrogen utilization [ 5 , 18 ].…”