Genetically conditioned variability of metabolic profile parameters in dairy cows]

Individual heritability and differences in the concentration of the chemical components of the blood were studied in the dairy cows of the Slovak Spotted breed. The experiment was performed with 166 cows. The set comprised six groups of half-sisters from three stocks. The differences among the cows were statistically significant (alpha = 0.01) in the majority of the parameters studied: haematocrit, haemoglobin, pH, PO2, oxygen saturation of the blood; plasma potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, total protein, urea, glucose, alkaline phosphatase, and esterified fatty acids. The coefficients of repeatibility for the mentioned parameters ranged from 0.19 to 0.75. The heritability coefficients were calculated for the parameters in which the inter-group differences were significant: total protein (0.62), magnesium (0.57), potassium (0.51), urea (0.49), glucose (0.45), phosphorus (0.43), calcium (0.39), haematocrit (0.37), haemoglobin (0.35), pO2 (0.29). The results suggest that some of the parameters under study are under certain genetic control.     

益生菌对奶牛亚急性瘤胃酸中毒的保护作用

亚急性瘤胃酸中毒对奶牛的生产性能有很大影响,使用益生菌来稳定奶牛分娩后-产奶过渡期瘤胃pH可以减轻这种代谢紊乱的症状。因此,本试验选择了体重(741±55)kg,产奶期在(212±19.5)d的奶牛4头,试验采用4×4拉丁方设计,共4种日粮:对照组饲喂基础日粮,处理1组为日粮添加0.5 g/d米曲菌,处理2组为日粮添加2.5 g/d米曲菌,处理3组为日粮添加2 g/d粪肠球菌和酿酒酵母菌的混合物。每组经过3 w的适应期、4 d酸中毒期以及3 d恢复期。结果显示:瘤胃最大pH范围在5.6～6.0,占比最高,与适应期和中毒期的结果相似。中毒期间,其他pH范围表现为显著差异(P <0.05)。中毒期,处理3组较对照组显著提高了瘤胃pH(P <0.05),同时处理3组瘤胃pH在5.6～6.0的占比也显著高于对照组(P <0.05)。日粮添加2.5 g/d米曲菌显著降低了产奶量(P <0.05)。奶牛遭受瘤胃酸中毒后,随着时间的推移,丙酸、丁酸和戊酸含量显著升高(P <0.05),而乙酸、异丁酸和异戊酸含量显著降低(P <0.05)。除了处理3组外,其他组瘤胃乳酸含量随时间的增加而升高(P <0.05)。饲喂12 d后,处理3组较对照组显著提高了乳酸含量(P <0.05)。瘤胃白球菌和大肠杆菌含量在饲喂2 h后显著升高(P <0.05),之后在6 h达到稳定。结论 :粪肠球菌和酿酒酵母菌复合物可以缓解奶牛亚急性瘤胃酸中毒的症状,米曲菌可以调控瘤胃pH,但高剂量米曲菌添加水平对瘤胃pH无显著影响。     

奶牛瘤胃酸中毒的发病机理与营养调控

瘤胃酸中毒主要是由于饲喂大量的极易发酵的碳水化合物,引起瘤胃内酸度升高,从而导致机体功能紊乱的一种营养代谢病。发病快、病程短、病症重、死亡率高,给奶牛养殖造成严重的损失。本文主要就奶牛瘤胃酸中毒的发病机制及预防的研究进展作了简要综述。合理调配饲料,日粮中添加缓冲物质,调控瘤胃内微生物区系,加强饲养管理等手段的综合运用可有效的防止瘤胃酸中毒的发生。     

奶牛亚急性瘤胃酸中毒的发生与危害

亚急性瘤胃酸中毒（SARA）是一个大多数牛场普遍存在的奶牛代谢性疾病。围产期、干物质采食量（DMI）过高、日粮配制差及采食模式变化过大等奶牛均易发生亚急性瘤胃酸中毒,继而造成干物质采食量下降、纤维素消化率降低、乳成分改变及引发腹泻等疾病。本文对奶牛亚急性瘤胃酸中毒的病因及危害等方面进行了简述。     

Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in grazing Irish dairy cows

Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a significant production disease of dairy cattle. Previous concerns have been raised over the occurrence of SARA in pasture-fed dairy cattle and the potential consequences of laminitis and lameness. Highly digestible perennial rye grass contains high concentrations of rapidly fermentable carbohydrate and low concentrations of physical effective fibre that may result in SARA. This study conducted a point prevalence survey of rumen health status in grazing Irish dairy cattle fed predominantly perennial rye grass-based pasture. The survey assessed rumen fluid, animal health status, milk production data and pasture composition. A total of 144 cows between 80 and 150 days in milk were sampled on 12 farms. Eleven percent of cows were classified as affected with SARA (pH < or = 5.5), 42% were marginal (pH 5.6-5.8) and 47% were normal (pH>5.8). The study showed that low rumen pH is prevalent in grazing Irish dairy cattle consuming perennial rye grass-based pasture and raises concerns regarding effective pasture utilisation and possible consequences for animal health.     

Body condition scores in dairy cows: associations with metabolic and endocrine changes in healthy dairy cows

Relationships between body condition scores (BCS), metabolic profiles and endocrine traits were investigated in 53 healthy Red Holstein cows. Cows were categorized into groups based on BCS ante-partum (a.p.: >3.25 or < 3.25) and on BCS losses during the first 8 weeks after calving (ABCS8 > 0.75 or < or = 0.75). Blood samples were collected 1 week before calving and every 2 weeks post-partum (p.p.). Cows with BCS a.p. >3.25 and deltaBCS < or = 0.75 were oldest and cows with BCS a.p. < or = 3.25 and deltaBCS < or = 0.75 were youngest. Cows with BCS > 3.25 a.p. and that lost > 0.75 BCS in the first 2 months of lactation exhibited signs of subclinical ketosis. If statistically adjusted for the effect of lactation number, average milk yield within the first 8 weeks p.p. and milk fat concentrations were similar between BCS groups, whereas milk protein concentrations differed significantly between BCS groups. Significant differences between groups were observed for blood plasma glucose, bilirubin, beta-hydroxybutyrate, non-esterified fatty acids and insulin concentrations. No differences were seen for albumin, urea, insulin-like growth factor-1, and 3.5.3'-triiodothyronine concentrations and for plasma activities of glutamate-oxalacetate transaminase, gamma-glutamyltransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase. There was a good agreement between BCS and profiles of metabolites and hormones related to energy metabolism in clinically healthy cows. Cows in good body condition a.p. had greater risks of metabolic problems because of excessive mobilization of body reserves. However, the metabolic status was best in cows with a BCS > 3.25 a.p.. if they did not lose much body condition p.p.     

Subacute rumen acidosis in lactating cows: an investigation in intensive Italian dairy herds

Subacute rumen acidosis (SARA) represents one of the most important metabolic disorders in intensive dairy farms that affects rumen fermentations, animal welfare, productivity and farm profitability. The aim of the present study was to study the occurrence of SARA in intensive Italian dairy herds and to determine the relationship between diet composition, ruminal pH and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentration. Ten commercial dairy herds were investigated; twelve cows in each herd were selected randomly among animal without clinical signs of disease, with good body condition and between 5 and 60 day-in-milk (DIM), to perform rumenocentesis and obtain rumen fluid. Ruminal pH was determined immediately after sampling and concentration of SCFA in ruminal fluid was determined on samples after storage. An other objective of this research was to study in detail the effects of rumenocentesis on animal health: this study could confirm the extreme validity of this technique as ruminal sampling. Results were subject to anova and correlation analysis using SIGMA STAT 2.03. The results indicated the presence of SARA in three herds (more than 33% cows with rumen pH < 5.5), a critical situation (more than 33% cows with rumen pH < 5.8) in five farms and a normal rumen pH condition in two herds. In particular, dairy herds show on average SCFA concentration of 150, 145, 123 mmol/l for low pH, critical pH and normal pH herds respectively. There were not significant differences among diet composition even if herds with SARA showed a light discordance between initially chemistry composition and residual feed. In the affected herds it was not possible to understand the exact causes of SARA. Animal management seems to be one of the most important factors in developing SARA including total mixed ration preparation.     

Fertility disorders in dairy cows in northern Greece]

Housing conditions, parameters of fertility and occurrence of different types of infertility in a group of 1641 breeding cattle are described. Biochemical parameters of blood serum from 150 infertile cows suffering from endometritis and treatment results regarding a possible relation between nutrition and infertility of the animals are reported, as well as results of treatment of endometritis using several methods in 147 infertile cows. The results show that hormonal disorders are the most common reasons of infertility and low concentrations of beta-Carotene are the most common reasons of nutrition deficiency resulting from an insufficient quantity of fresh fodder. It can be suggested that low concentration of beta-Carotene may be related to hormonal disorders.     

Signals for identifying cows at risk of subacute ruminal acidosis in dairy veterinary practice

Controlling rumen disorders is critical to ensure successful dairy herd health management. Lactation diets of dairy cows are commonly rich in concentrates and low in physically effective fibre. Feeding of these diets increases the risk of rumen disorders with far‐reaching consequences for cattle health, welfare and sustainability of dairy production. The term subacute ruminal acidosis or SARA is often used as a synonym for poor rumen health. Being subclinical, SARA lacks of clear symptoms and is therefore difficult to diagnose and to control in the practice. This review article summarises common and identifies new direct and indirect cow signals related to SARA. We have performed a scientific evaluation and interpretation of each of these cow signals by highlighting their advantages and disadvantages from the practitioner's point of view. The gold standard of SARA cow signals still remains direct measurement of ruminal pH. However, continuous pH monitoring is cost‐intensive and often biased by sensor drift. Single‐point ruminal pH measurements by oral stomach tubing or rumenocentesis have strong limitations. Therefore, there is a need for reliable and robust markers of SARA that are easily accessible and inexpensive. Such indirect parameters are the observation of chewing and feeding activities, as well as the monitoring of milk, faecal, urine and blood variables. Also, novel technologies that allow rapid and non‐invasive measurement of the rumen mucosa thickness and ruminal motility patterns might provide advantages in SARA diagnosis. Due to several constraints of these indirect diagnostic tools, such as limited specificity and sensitivity, we strongly recommend using a combination of the signals to reliably identify cows at risk of SARA in a dairy herd.     

Natural antibodies related to metabolic and mammary health in dairy cows

Natural antibodies (NAb) are defined as antibodies that circulate in normal healthy individuals under the absence of deliberate antigenic stimulation. Two types of NAb are distinguished: NAb towards exogenous antigens and NAb towards autoantigens (N(A)Ab). The objectives of the current study were threefold. First, we studied the relation between metabolic health and concentrations of NAb binding keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in milk and plasma of dairy cows in early lactation. Second, we determined the presence of N(A)Ab binding transferrin, myosin and thyroglobulin in bovine milk. Third, we studied the relation between N(A)Ab in bovine milk and mammary health. For the first objective, dairy cows were either fed a control (C) (n = 8) or a diet where 2 kg of concentrates were replaced by an iso-energetic concentrate containing marine algae (ALG) from week −3 till 8 postpartum (experiment 1). Plasma and milk samples were analyzed weekly for NAb binding either KLH or LPS. Plasma was analyzed for glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA). For the second and third objective, milk samples were collected weekly from 96 dairy cows from week 2 till 9 postpartum and analyzed for milk composition and N(A)Ab binding myosin, transferrin and thyroglobulin (experiment 2). For both datasets, N(A)Ab titers are expressed as ²log values of the highest dilution giving a positive reaction. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. Repeated observations were analyzed in a mixed model. In experiment 1, no diet effect (P > 0.05) was observed on NAb binding LPS in plasma or milk, NAb binding KLH in milk was greater (P = 0.05) for cows fed the control diet. Concentration of NAb binding KLH and LPS in plasma was negatively related to plasma NEFA concentration (P < 0.05). In experiment 2, NAb binding myosin (5.66 ± 0.06), thyroglobulin (4.85 ± 0.06), and transferrin (5.76 ± 0.07) were identified in milk. Clinical mastitis incidence (9%) tended to be positively related to concentration of NAb binding myosin (P = 0.06) and negatively related to Nab binding transferrin (P = 0.08). In conclusion, NAb binding KLH and LPS in plasma and milk are related to metabolic health, as indicated by plasma NEFA concentration. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the presence of N(A)Ab in bovine milk and shows trends for a relation between N(A)Ab binding auto-antigens and mastitis. Future studies should confirm these trends and shed light on the predictive value of N(A)Ab in bovine milk for mammary health.     

Hormonal and metabolic profiles in post partum ovarian cysts in dairy cows

Veterinary Research Communications -     

Completeness of metabolic disease recordings in Nordic national databases for dairy cows

The four Nordic countries Denmark (DK), Finland (FI), Norway (NO) and Sweden (SE) all have national databases where diagnostic events in dairy cows are recorded. Comparing and looking at differences in disease occurrence between countries may give information on factors that influence disease occurrence, optimal diseases control and treatment strategies. For such comparisons to be valid, the data in these databases should be standardised and of good quality. The objective of the study presented here was to assess the quality of metabolic disease recordings, primarily milk fever and ketosis, in four Nordic national databases. Completeness of recording figures of database registrations at two different levels was chosen as a measure of data quality. Firstly, completeness of recording of all disease events on a farm regardless of veterinary involvement, called 'Farmer observed completeness', was determined. Secondly, completeness of recording of veterinary treated disease events only, called 'Veterinary treated completeness', was determined. To collect data for calculating these completeness levels a simple random sample of herds was obtained in each country. Farmers who were willing to participate, recorded for 4 months in 2008, on a purpose made registration form, any observed illness in cows, regardless of veterinary involvement. The number of participating herds was 105, 167, 179 and 129 in DK, FI, NO and SE respectively. In total these herds registered 247, 248, 177 and 218 metabolic events for analysis in DK, FI, NO and SE, respectively. Data from national databases were subsequently extracted, and the two sources of data were matched to find the proportion, or completeness, of diagnostic events registered by farmers that also existed in national databases. Matching was done using a common diagnostic code system and allowed for a discrepancy of 7 days for registered date of the event. For milk fever, the Farmer observed completeness was 77%, 67%, 79% and 79%, and for Veterinary treated completeness 88%, 71%, 80% and 82%, in DK, FI, NO and SE, respectively. For ketosis, the Farmer observed completeness was 77%, 55%, 70% and 46%, and for Veterinary treated completeness 84%, 75%, 79% and 56%, in DK, FI, NO and SE, respectively. The differences observed in some of these completeness figures indicate that metabolic disease frequency measures when calculated from these four national databases do not accurately reflect the true difference in metabolic disease occurrence in dairy cows between countries. Further standardisation of disease registrations is necessary for valid between-country assessments.     

Relationships of metabolic profiles to milk production and feeding in dairy cows

The aim of this study was to assess the practicality of the metabolic profile test (MPT) for feeding evaluation in dairy cattle. Stepwise regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationships of MPT to feeding and milk production of 4,679 cows in 343 commercial dairy herds. Significant explanatory variables were determined by forward set-up selection, among the deviated values from the reference values of 10 blood metabolites and body condition score, to predict dependent variables, i.e., milk production and the rate of feeding to nutrient requirements, in each or all lactation stages and the dry period. The milk production model of the all-lactation stage showed the greatest goodness-of-fit (adjusted R(2)=0.214, p<0.0001) with high positive regression coefficients for serum cholesterol, magnesium, urea nitrogen and albumin, and negative for glucose and calcium. In the feeding models, goodness-of-fit of crude protein was relatively high (R(2)=0.072, p<0.0001) with a positive relationship to blood urea nitrogen. Although the other feeding models were low in goodness-of-fit, several significant explanatory variables to feeding were found. All feeding models in the late lactation stage and the dry period, in which the feeding was stable, had greater goodness-of-fit than those in the early lactation stage in which milk production varied. It was concluded that the values which deviated from the reference values for the MPT components could assess milk production and feeding, and the MPT is a practical tool for auxiliary feeding evaluation.     

亚急性瘤胃酸中毒对泌乳奶牛血浆生化指标及代谢组的影响研究

本试验旨在探究亚急性瘤胃酸中毒（subacute rumen acidosis, SARA）对泌乳奶牛血液生化指标和血浆代谢组的影响。试验选用8头装有永久性瘤胃瘘管的泌乳中期奶牛,随机分成对照组（CON）（n=4）和处理组（SARA）（n=4）,CON组与SARA组分别饲喂精粗比为4∶6和6∶4的全混合日粮,试验周期为3周。于试验期每周最后一天晨饲后0、2、4、6、8和12 h进行瘤胃pH的测定,同时在pH测定当天晨饲后6 h采集颈静脉血样,用于血液生化指标和代谢组的分析。结果表明,与CON组相比,SARA组的瘤胃pH显著降低（P=0.002）,两组干物质采食量没有显著差异（P=0.524）。血浆生化指标结果显示,与CON组比较,SARA组奶牛的β-羟丁酸浓度显著降低（P=0.007）,甘油三酯浓度显著升高（P=0.014）。采用液相-质谱（LC-MS）联用技术对血浆进行代谢组学分析,主成分分析（PCA）和偏最小二乘法分析（PLS-DA）结果显示,SARA组奶牛血浆代谢物组成较CON组发生明显变化,两组间共检测到26种差异代谢物（VIP>1 & FDR<0.05）,与CON组相比,SARA组奶牛血浆中的7-酮脱氧胆酸、脱氧胆酸、胆酸、12-酮脱氧胆酸、12（13）Ep-9-KODE、12,13-DHOME和L-天冬酰胺代谢物含量显著升高（FDR<0.05）,而十一烷二酸、十六烷二酸、9-HODE、血氧烷B3、PGE2、L-精氨酸、L-色氨酸、L-苏氨酸、异丁酰甘氨酸、异戊酰甘氨酸、马尿酸、4-羟基马尿酸和6-磷酸-2-脱氢-D-葡萄糖酸酯等代谢物含量显著降低（FDR<0.05）。综上,与CON组比较,SARA组奶牛的脂代谢、氨基酸代谢和糖代谢发生显著变化,这些物质可作为SARA潜在的生物标志物。