The Technical and Financial Effects of Parenteral Supplementation with Selenium and Vitamin E during Late Pregnancy and the Early Lactation Period on the Productivity of Dairy Cattle

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effects of parenteral selenium (Se) and vitamin E supplementation on economic impact, milk yield, and some reproductive parameters in high-yield dairy cows in the dry period and in those at the beginning of lactation. At the beginning of the dry period, cows (n = 323) were randomly divided into three groups as follows: Treatment 1 (T1), Treatment 2 (T2), and Control (C). Cows in group T1 received this preparation 21 days before calving and on calving day, and cows in group T2 received it only on calving day. The cows in the control group did not receive this preparation. Supplementation with Se increased Se serum levels of cows treated at calving day (p<0.05). Differences in milk yield at all weeks and the electrical conductivity values at the 8th and 12th weeks were significant (p<0.05). Supplementation with Se and Vitamin E decreased the incidence of metritis, the number of services per conception and the service period, but had no effects on the incidence of retained fetal membrane. A partial budgeting analysis indicated that Se supplementation was economically profitable; cows in group T1 averaged 240.6$ per cow, those in group T2 averaged 224.6$ per cow. Supplementation with Se and Vitamin E has been found to increase serum Se levels, milk yield, and has positive effects on udder health by decreasing milk conductivity values and incidence of sub-clinical mastitis.

Bovine mastitis: risk factors, therapeutic strategies, and alternative treatments — A review

“…Negative energy balance is associated with the diet deficiencies in trace elements (i.e., selenium, iron, copper, zinc, cobalt, chromium), amino acids (i.e., lysine, L-histidine), and vitamins (i.e., A, C, E, β-carotene, lycopene), which lead to immunosuppression at cellular and humoral level during onset of lactation, consequently increasing susceptibility to infections [46,56]. Therefore, proper management of diet during transition period such as supplementation of vitamin E and zinc, is critical to prevent mastitis infection and to increase lactation [57,58].…”

A meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effects of vitamin E supplementation on serum enrichment, udder health, milk yield, and reproductive performance of transition cows

“…The result of the current meta-analysis showing a tendency for higher MY is consistent with the unclear trend of the vitamin E supplementation on the milk production performance. For example, several studies (Bayril et al, 2015;Schäfers et al, 2017;Vasiľ et al, 2017) reported increased MY in cows treated with vitamin E, whereas other studies did not report a beneficial effect of vitamin E administration on milk production at levels higher than current NRC (2001) recommendations (Bourne et al, 2008;Anwar et al, 2014;Vasiľ et al, 2017). Positive effects of vitamin E supplementation can be explained by the fact that prepartum vitamin E supplementation may increase DMI through increased glucose availability and levels, leading to increasing nutrient availability for milk synthesis (Chandra et al, 2013).…”

“…Several other factors may affect vitamin E availability and its efficiency in animals, including source of the vitamin E active substance, other nutrients in feeds (Campbell and Miller, 1998;Chandra et al, 2014), timing, inclusion of Se (Aréchiga et al, 1994), variation in vitamin E content of the basal ration (Lindqvist et al, 2011), and method of administration (e.g., ruminal pellets or premixes in diet, or even i.v., s.c., and i.m. injection; Aréchiga et al, 1994;Bayril et al, 2015), applied over different time spans and frequencies with cows fed different diets and levels of production.…”

Effects of Parenteral Supplementation with Minerals and Vitamins on Oxidative Stress and Humoral Immune Response of Weaning Calves

“…This type of supplementation also contributed to higher daily weight gain in heifers [ 17 ] and steers [ 18 ], improved health and antioxidant status and reduced bacterial infections in newborn calves [ 19 ]. Likewise, the use of injectable vitamin E and Se in prepartum dairy cattle enhanced antioxidant capacity [ 20 ] and decreased the incidence of postpartum mastitis [ 21 ]. However, average weight gain (AWG) was not improved in weaning calves [ 22 ].…”