Influence of Sodium Humate on the Growth Performance, Diarrhea Incidence, Blood Parameters, and Fecal Microflora of Pre-Weaned Dairy Calves

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the administration of sodium humate (NaH) on the growth performance, diarrhea incidence, and fecal microflora of pre-weaned Holstein calves. In a 53-day experiment, forty healthy newborn female calves were randomly allocated to the following four treatment groups: (1) control (basal diet); (2) 1-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 1 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily); (3) 3-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 3 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily); and (4) 5-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 5 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily). NaH was mixed with milk (d 2–20) or milk replacer (d 21–53). Calves in the 5-gram NaH group had a higher ADG during d 1 to 21 and d 21 to 53 than the other groups did (p < 0.05). Fecal scores and diarrheal incidence were significantly lower in the 3-gram and 5-gram NaH groups than the 1-gram NaH and control groups during d 1 to 20 (p < 0.05). The serum IgA, IgG and IL-4 concentrations, and T-SOD and T-AOC activities were higher, and the serum IL-6, TNF-α, D-lactic acid, and MDA concentrations were lower in the 5-gram NaH group than the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, NaH supplementation increased the abundances of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus but decreased the abundance of Escherichia coli in feces (p < 0.05). These encouraging findings indicated that supplementation with 5 g of NaH effectively improved the immune status, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal beneficial bacteria, and further improved the growth performance and reduced the diarrhea incidence of the pre-weaned dairy calves.

Effects of sodium humate and glutamine on growth performance, diarrhoea incidence, blood parameters, and faecal microflora of pre‐weaned calves

“…Haematological indices and serum metabolite levels reflect the health status of animals, and in the present study, these parameters were within the normal ranges for healthy calves (Alugongo et al, 2017;Maldonado et al, 2018;Slanzon et al, 2019;D. Wang et al, 2022).…”

“…Haematological indices and serum metabolite levels reflect the health status of animals, and in the present study, these parameters were within the normal ranges for healthy calves (Alugongo et al, 2017; Maldonado et al, 2018; Slanzon et al, 2019; D. Wang et al, 2022). The results of the present study showed that HNa and Gln supplementation had no effects on haematological indices and serum metabolites of pre‐weaned calves.…”

The Effect of Sodium Humate Feed Additives in Diets for Holstein Breed Heifers

“…In our research, the chemical composition of the starter feed (Table 3) was consistent with that used in dietary experiments with NaHum additives on heifers conducted by [18] and Raketsky et al (2021) [72]. Raketsky et al (2021) [72] and Crowe et al (2018) [73] emphasized that heifers mature faster than bulls; therefore, to avoid excess fat formation, which is often the reason for culling heifers, they need a specially balanced diet and more careful monitoring.…”

“…Sodium humate inclusion in the diet of breeding heifers effectively decreases diarrhea incidence and improves growth performance in pre-weaned Holstein calves by enhancing their antioxidant and immune status and modulating intestinal microflora [18]. Sodium humate is a macromolecular substance comprising humic acid, which is rich in phenolic hydroxyl and carboxyl groups and has antidiarrheal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.…”

The effect of humate as a feed additive on feed intake, production, and carcass parameters of Angus steers

“…This unique biochemistry supports the application of humate as a soil conditioner, supporting soil micro‐organisms, the bioavailability of macro‐ and micro‐ nutrients in soil as well as plant physiology and growth 2 . These same properties also suggest that humate may be a valuable livestock feed additive, with potential effects on nutrient utilisation and animal performance 3 …”