Effects of intravenous arginine infusion on inflammation and metabolic indices of dairy cows in early lactation

Abstract

Enhancing the supply of arginine (Arg), a semi-essential amino acid, has positive effects on immune function in dairy cattle experiencing metabolic stress during early lactation. Our objective was to determine the effects of Arg supplementation on biomarkers of liver damage and inflammation in cows during early lactation. Six Chinese Holstein lactating cows with similar BW (508 ± 14 kg), body condition score (3.0), parity (4.0 ± 0), milk yield (30.6 ± 1.8 kg) and days in milk (20 ± days) were randomly assigned to three treatments in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design balanced for carryover effects. Each period was 21 days with 7 days for infusion and 14 days for washout. Treatments were (1) Control: saline; (2) Arg group: saline + 0.216 mol/day l-Arg; and (3) Alanine (Ala) group: saline + 0.868 mol/day l-Ala (iso-nitrogenous to the Arg group). Blood and milk samples from the experimental cows were collected on the last day of each infusion period and analyzed for indices of liver damage and inflammation, and the count and composition of somatic cells in milk. Compared with the Control, the infusion of Arg led to greater concentrations of total protein, immunoglobulin M and high density lipoprotein cholesterol coupled with lower concentrations of haptoglobin and tumor necrosis factor-α, and activity of aspartate aminotransferase in serum. Infusion of Ala had no effect on those biomarkers compared with the Control. Although milk somatic cell count was not affected, the concentration of granulocytes was lower in response to Arg infusion compared with the Control or Ala group. Overall, the biomarker analyses indicated that the supplementation of Arg via the jugular vein during early lactation alleviated inflammation and metabolic stress.

N-Carbamoylglutamate Supplementation on the Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation, Milk Quality, Antioxidant Parameters, and Metabolites of Jersey Cattle in High-Altitude Areas

“…The use of feed additives is one of the common ways to improve animal production performance. As a typical nutritional feed additive, arginine (Arg) can effectively improve the immune function and production performance of dairy cows ( 12 , 13 ), but it is limited due to its high cost of addition and antagonism reaction with other amino acids. At this time, N -carbamoylglutamate (NCG) can promote the synthesis of endogenous Arg and has become a suitable alternative.…”

Arginine regulates inflammation response-induced by Fowl Adenovirus serotype 4 via JAK2/STAT3 pathway

“…Furthermore, arginine could alleviate the inflammation of excessive immune response [ 17 ]. In porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2), L-arginine obviously suppressed the levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, and TNF-α induced by LPS, alleviated inflammatory response and maintained intestinal integrity [ 18 ]. However, it is unknown whether arginine can alleviate the inflammation response induced by FAdV-4.…”

Alterations in Skeletal Muscle mRNA Abundance in Response to Ethyl-Cellulose Rumen-Protected Methionine during the Periparturient Period in Dairy Cows

“…At present, few studies have been conducted to assess quantitative aspects of Arg synthesis and catabolism in the whole body or tissues of ruminants. It is noteworthy, however, that supplementation of Arg via the jugular vein during early lactation alleviated inflammation and metabolic stress in dairy cows [50]. The fact that the abundance of both SLC25A29 and SCL38A9 was greater in skeletal muscle of cows fed RPM suggested that Arg content might have been enriched.…”