Effects of feeding rumen-protected methionine pre- and postpartum in multiparous Holstein cows: Lactation performance and plasma amino acid concentrations

Abstract

Objectives were to evaluate the effect of feeding rumen-protected methionine (RPM) in pre-and postpartum total mix ration (TMR) on lactation performance and plasma AA concentrations in dairy cows. A total of 470 multiparous Holstein cows [235 cows at University of Wisconsin (UW) and 235 cows at Cornell University (CU)] were enrolled approximately 4 wk before parturition, housed in close-up dry cow and replicated lactation pens. Pens were randomly assigned to treatment diets (pre-and postpartum, respectively): UW control (CON) diet = 2.30 and 2.09% of Met as percentage of metabolizable protein (MP) and RPM diet = 2.83 and 2.58% of Met as MP; CU CON = 2.22 and 2.19% of Met as percentage of MP, and CU RPM = 2.85 and 2.65% of Met as percentage of MP. Treatments were evaluated until 112 ± 3 d in milk (DIM). Milk yield was recorded daily. Milk samples were collected at wk 1 and 2 of lactation, and then every other week, and analyzed for milk composition. For lactation pens, dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded daily. Body weight and body condition score were determined from 4 ± 3 DIM and parturition until 39 ± 3 and 49 DIM, respectively. Plasma AA concentrations were evaluated within 3 h after feeding during the periparturient period [d −7 (±4), 0, 7 (±1), 14 (±1), and 21 (±1); n = 225]. In addition, plasma AA concentrations were evaluated (every 3 h for 24 h) after feeding in cows at 76 ± 8 DIM (n = 16) and within 3 h after feeding in cows at 80 ± 3 DIM (n = 72). The RPM treatment had no effect on DMI (27.9 vs. 28.0 kg/d) or milk yield (48.7 vs. 49.2 kg/d) for RPM and CON, respectively. Cows fed the RPM treat-ment had increased milk protein concentration (3.07 vs. 2.95%) and yield (1.48 vs. 1.43 kg/d), and milk fat concentration (3.87 vs. 3.77%), although milk fat yield did not differ. Plasma Met concentrations tended to be greater for cows fed RPM at 7 d before parturition (25.9 vs. 22.9 µM), did not differ at parturition (22.0 vs. 20.4 µM), and were increased on d 7 (31.0 vs. 21.2 µM) and remained greater with consistent concentrations until d 21 postpartum (d 14: 30.5 vs. 19.0 µM; d 21: 31.0 vs. 17.8 µM). However, feeding RPM decreased Leu, Val, Asn, and Ser (d 7, 14, and 21) and Tyr (d 14). At a later stage in lactation, plasma Met was increased for RPM cows (34.4 vs. 16.7 µM) consistently throughout the day, with no changes in other AA. Substantial variation was detected for plasma Met concentration (range: RPM = 8.9-63.3 µM; CON = 7.8-28.8 µM) among cows [coefficient of variation (CV) > 28%] and within cow during the day (CV: 10.5-27.1%). In conclusion, feeding RPM increased plasma Met concentration and improved lactation performance via increased milk protein production.

Peripartal Rumen-Protected L-Carnitine Manipulates the Productive and Blood Metabolic Responses in High-Producing Holstein Dairy Cows

“…Days relative to calving was used as a repeated measurement, with cow within experimental groups as the subject. Daily DMI of the groups was analyzed as previously described (45); however, the interaction between group and day was taken out from the model. A gamma-type function model (Y = a * EXPcd) was generated to describe the relation between daily milk production (Y) and time (d), while (c) is the slope.…”

Evaluation of the Absorption of Methionine Carried by Mineral Clays and Zeolites in Porcine Ex Vivo Permeability Models

“…The samples considered for this study were prepared according to [15,16], which allows for intercalation of neutral organic molecules without ions exchange [11,17].…”

“…Although the protection of amino acids finds its natural application in dairy cow feeding due to its essential role in rumen protection [10,11], the application of delivery systems may represent an efficient solution for reducing peptide-food matrix reactions and food processing protection.…”

Natural Clays as Potential Amino Acids Carriers for Animal Nutrition Application

“…In high-yielding dairy cows, methionine is one of the most limiting amino acids, while it is the second most limiting amino acid in a typical swine diet. Therefore, an efficient methionine supplementation can improve the dietary protein utilization, when dietary methionine is limiting [5].…”

“…As a matter of fact, bentonite is used in feed applications for its good absorption capability of pathogenic microorganisms, enzymes, toxins, mycotoxins, and heavy metal ions from feeds. Bentonite's high adsorption capacity has been related to particle size, shape, and to the high specific surface area [5][6][7][8][9].…”