Short communication: Relationships among plasma and milk vitamin B12, plasma free fatty acids, and blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations in early lactation dairy cows

Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between plasma and milk concentrations of vitamin B as well as the relationship between plasma or milk concentrations of vitamin B and plasma concentration of free fatty acids (FFA) or blood concentration of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) of early lactating Ayrshire (AY) and Holstein (HO) cows. A total of 44 dairy herds (7 AY and 37 HO herds) and 62 AY (21 in first, 19 in second, and 22 in third and more lactations) and 228 HO (51 in first, 74 in second, and 103 in third and more lactation) cows between 3 and 40 d in milk were involved in the study. Hand-stripped milk samples and blood samples were taken 6 h after the morning milking. Milk and plasma samples were analyzed for vitamin B concentration and plasma samples were analyzed for FFA concentration. A handheld device was used for blood BHB concentration determination. Thresholds for elevated plasma FFA concentration and hyperketonemia were set at ≥0.70 and ≥1.2 mmol/L, respectively. Vitamin B concentration in milk of AY primiparous cows [2,557 (1,995-3,276) pg/mL] was lower than in milk from HO primiparous cows [3,876 (3,356-4,478) pg/mL], whereas no difference was observed among other parities and breeds. Regardless of breeds, plasma concentration of vitamin B of first and second parities was lower than plasma concentration of third and more lactation cows. Milk vitamin B concentration was positively correlated with plasma vitamin B concentration, but the relationship was stronger for AY (ρ averaging 0.63) than for HO cows (ρ averaging 0.36). For AY and HO breeds, a significant relationship between milk or plasma vitamin B concentrations and plasma FFA concentration (ρ between 0.29 and 0.59) was observed. Moreover, cows with elevated plasma FFA concentration had greater milk and plasma vitamin B concentrations than cows with normal plasma FFA concentration. No relationship between vitamin B concentration in milk or plasma and blood BHB concentration and hyperketonemia was noted. In summary, milk is not well correlated with plasma vitamin B concentration for HO. It could be hypothesized that elevated plasma concentration of FFA could have a negative effect on the use of vitamin B by cow cells, which increases the concentration of the vitamin in plasma and its secretion in milk.

Correlations between the Composition of the Bovine Microbiota and Vitamin B 12 Abundance

“…We observed a range of vitamin B 12 concentrations in both plasma and milk that were slightly more narrow than those observed previously in the combined literature on Holstein cows (35). The narrow range of milk vitamin B 12 concentrations observed in our study is due at least in part to the fact that we did not sample colostrum, which tends to have a sevenfold-higher vitamin B 12 content compared to milk, and because our animals were part of the same herd, they each had access to the same rations and were controlled by the same management practices (33). The concentration of vitamin B 12 in milk was positively correlated using Pearson correlation to the concentration of vitamin B 12 in plasma (P ϭ 0.34), although this correlation was slightly lower than was observed in a previous study (P Ͻ 0.42) (29).…”

“…The concentration of vitamin B 12 in milk is known to vary widely among both herds and individual animals based on a variety of factors. It is known that genotype (33), days in milk (DIM) (7,20), and diet (7,33,34) each influence the level of vitamin B 12 in milk. We observed a range of vitamin B 12 concentrations in both plasma and milk that were slightly more narrow than those observed previously in the combined literature on Holstein cows (35).…”

Relationship between Vitamin B12 and Cobalt Metabolism in Domestic Ruminant: An Update

“…However, neither feed differences nor heritability nor herd management practices fully explain the variations of vitamin B12 in milk [ 40 , 41 , 45 ], and given that vitamin B12 is synthesized exclusively by bacteria and archaea, it is likely that the composition of the bovine microbiota plays a determining role in the variability observed in the production of vitamin B12 in the rumen [ 37 ].…”

“…Some researches showed that diet could have an important impact on the ruminal synthesis of vitamin B12, in such a way that the concentration of vitamin B12 in milk could be modified by feeding management but only in a limited way [ 45 ]. The concentration of vitamin B12 in milk varied widely between herds, from 2861 to 5892 pg/mL [ 45 ].…”

Milk β-hydroxybutyrate concentration measured by Fourier-transform infrared and flow-injection analyses from samples taken at different times relative to milking

“…Details are provided in the online Supplementary File. A total of 229 Holstein (51 first, 73 s, and 105 third and greater lactations) and 64 Ayrshire (22 first, 19 s, and 23 third and greater lactations) cows were involved as previously described by Duplessis et al (2018). Herds were visited once during the morning milking between May and August 2016.…”