The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of feed additive that contains hop cones, vitamin E, choline, methionine and carnitine in the treatment of subclinical ketosis in transition dairy cows. Twenty multiparous dairy cows with a milk yield > 5000 kg in the previous lactation were used after calving in this experiment. The cows were divided into two groups: control -healthy cow (n = 10) and experimental -cows with subclinical ketosis (n = 10). The subclinical ketosis cows received a feed additive containing ground pellets of hop cones -20 g, alpha-tocopherol -3 g, rumen protected choline -20 g, methionine -20 g and L-carnitine -1 g per head per day for 20 days. Blood samples were collected from the tail (coccygeal) vein before morning feeding on 1 st and 20 th days of experiment. Levels of glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate ketone were determined in blood. Insulin and cortisol were measured in the plasma. Total protein, albumin, urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured in serum. In the urine, ketone bodies were detected. The results obtained showed that the subclinical ketosis cows before treatment had a β-hydroxybutyrate level decreased by 36% and also glucose level was lower than healthy ones. After treatment, levels of glucose, insulin and cortisol increased by 31 %, 22 % and 15% respectively in subclinical ketosis animals. The feed additive also has a hepatoprotective properties as serum albumin level increased, while urea nitrogen level decreased in comparison to the healthy cows. However, these changes are superimposed on the natural physiological changes that occur in the blood parameters during the first few weeks after calving, as the healthy cows that did not receive feed additives showed unidirectional changes but less pronounced. On conclusion, the proposed feed additive can be used in the treatment and prevention of subclinical ketosis.

The article describes the study of mineral metabolism in patients with cow ketosis and during feeding of our developed feed additive, which includes crushed hop cones, vitamin E and protected from cleavage in the rumen amino acids ˗ methionine, choline and carnitine. In the blood of cows with ketosis, before and after the use of feed additives studied the content of total calcium and inorganic phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase activity, determined the ratio of alkaline phosphatase and total calcium, the concentration of thyroid hormones (parathyroid hormone) and thyroid, thyroid also the amount of ketone bodies in the urine and β-hydroxybutyrate in the blood. It was found that twenty days of feeding cows with ketosis, feed additives leads to a decrease in ketonuria and ketonemia, as well as the normalization of mineral metabolism. At the end of the experiment, the content of total calcium and inorganic phosphorus in the blood of cows increased, the activity of alkaline phosphatase and the ratio of ALP / Ca decreased. The normalization of mineral metabolism in cows was also evidenced by its balanced hormonal regulation. The concentration of parathyroid hormone decreased in the blood plasma and calcitonin increased. According to the results of research, it is established that our proposed feed additive contributes to the normalization of mineral metabolism, and can also be used for prevention and in the complex treatment of cows with ketosis.

The Laboratory of molecular biology and clinical biochemistry was established with the foundation of Scientific Production Center (SPC) for the study of prion infections in 2001. SPC for the study of prion infections was founded by orders of the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences and the State Department of Veterinary Medicine of Ukraine. Scientists of the laboratory provide scientific support of the livestock products production based on studies of animal metabolism peculiarities according to the norms and internal pathology, study of the mechanisms of prion infection development, biological aspects and application of cell culture techniques in new veterinary drug discovery, development of nanocarriers with adjuvant properties, physiological and biochemical processes in semen. The conducted researches allow an improvement of the production profitability, livestock safety, reproductive capacity and live weight gain. For the reduction of the cost of livestock production the laboratory offers advanced diagnostic tests, effective measures for the treatment and prevention of metabolic diseases of high yielding cows, new generation tools for the development of vaccines and drugs, methods of treatment and prevention of BSE, methods for assessing and normalizing metabolic processes in ejaculate to increase the fertility of sperm.

This paper contains analysis of carbohydrate metabolism and hormonal regulation of energy metabolism in ketotic cows. It has been revealed that glucose concentration in blood was lower by 29.3 % (P<0.01) in comparison with healthy animals, which is a result of imbalance between energy income with food and energy expenditure for metabolic processes and milk synthesis. Under energy deficit conditions in organism of diseased cows insulin level decreased by 54.7 %, (P<0.01) and cortisol level increased by 41 % (P<0.01). This shows evidence of gluconeogenesis intensification by means of lipolysis and proteolysis. At the same time, plasma level of ketogenic amino acids was higher and level of glycogenic amino acids was lower: the concentration of phenylalanine, tyrosine and leucine increased by 22.2 % (P<0.05), 3.8 % and 62.5 % (P<0.01), respectively, and the level of alanine, arginine and asparagine decreased by 19 %, 32.8 % and 30.2 % (P<0.05), respectively, in comparison with healthy animals. The obtained results suggest alteration of ketone bodies usage by muscle tissue in the function of energy material. The animals with disease experience intensified lipid oxidation and usage of ketogenic amino acids, which results in compensation of energy deficit, but leads to accumulation of ketone bodies in blood.