Effects of Lonicera japonica extract on performance, blood biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress during perinatal period in dairy cows

Abstract

Objective: An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of Lonicera japonica extract (LJE) on milk production, rumen fermentation and blood biomarkers of energy metabolism, inflammation and oxidative stress during the perinatal period of Holstein dairy cows.Methods: Eighteen Holstein dairy cows were used in a complete randomized design experiment with 3 dietary treatments and 6 cows per treatment. All cows received the same basal total mixed ration (TMR) including a prepartal diet (1.35 Mcal of net energy for lactation [NEL]/kg of dry matter [DM], 13.23% crude protein [CP]) from –60 d to calving and a postpartal diet (1.61 Mcal of NEL/kg of DM, 17.39% CP) from calving to 30 days in milk (DIM). The 3 dietary treatments were TMR supplemented with LJE at 0 (control), 1 and 2 g/kg DM, respectively. LJE was offered from 21 d before calving to 30 DIM. Dry matter intake (DMI) and milk production were measured daily after calving. Milk and rumen fluid samples were collected on 29 and 30 d after calving. On –10, 4, 14, and 30 d relative to calving, blood samples were collected to analyze the biomarkers of energy metabolism, inflammation and oxidative stress.Results: Compared with control diet, LJE supplementation at 1 and 2 g/kg DM increased DMI, milk yield and reduced milk somatic cell count. LJE supplementation also decreased the concentrations of blood biomarkers of pro-inflammation (interleukin-1β [IL-1β], IL-6, and haptoglobin), energy metabolism (nonesterified fatty acid and β-hydroxybutyric acid) and oxidative stress (reactive oxygen metabolites), meanwhile increased the total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase concentrations in blood. No differences were observed in rumen pH, volatile fatty acid, and ammonia-N (NH3-N) concentrations between LJE supplemented diets and the control diet.Conclusion: Supplementation with 1 and 2 g LJE/kg DM could increase DMI, improve lactation performance, and enhance anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities of dairy cows during perinatal period.

Potential Application of Lonicera japonica Extracts in Animal Production: From the Perspective of Intestinal Health

“…Table 2 summarized the application of L. japonica (extract) in animal production in recently years. It showed that these studies mainly focus on pigs ( Liu W. et al, 2016 ), beef cattle ( Fu et al, 2016 ; Yejun et al, 2019 ), dairy cows ( Ma et al, 2020a , b ; Zhao et al, 2020 ), broiler ( Müştak et al, 2015 ), laying hens ( Long et al, 2018 ), Penaeus monodon ( Chen et al, 2013 ), grass carp ( Meng et al, 2019 ), and olive flounder ( Dharaneedharan et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Moreover, in vitro studies showed that L. japonica extract could regulate rumen fermentation and reduce methane production by inhibiting the growth of methanogenic bacteria ( Huang et al, 2019 ; Yejun et al, 2019 ). Studies on dairy cows showed that dietary supplementation of L. japonica extract could relieve heat stress of dairy cows by improving immune and antioxidant capacity ( Ma et al, 2020a , b ; Gao et al, 2021 ), enhancing anti-inflammatory activity ( Zhao et al, 2020 ). Meanwhile, L. japonica extract can improve rumen microbial diversity and improve rumen fermentation capacity ( Tang et al, 2018a ).…”

“…Table 2 summarized the application of L. japonica (extract) in animal production in recently years. It showed that these studies mainly focus on pigs (Liu W. et al, 2016), beef cattle (Fu et al, 2016;Yejun et al, 2019), dairy cows (Ma et al, 2020a,b;Zhao et al, 2020), broiler (Müştak et al, 2015), laying hens (Long et al, 2018), Penaeus monodon (Chen et al, 2013), grass carp (Meng et al, 2019), and olive flounder (Dharaneedharan et al, 2016). Studies on beef cattle showed that L. japonica extract can effectively alleviate heat stress, improve antioxidant function, and have a good repair effect on skeletal muscle fiber structure damage of beef cattle (Song et al, 2015;Fu et al, 2016).…”

“…Lonicera japonica extract is widely used in pharmacological preparations, cosmetics, food, and animal husbandry because of its diverse pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-microbial, antiviral, antitoxic, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties ( Kang et al, 2010 ; Park et al, 2012 ; Yejun et al, 2019 ). The application of L. japonica extract in animal production mainly focuses on pigs ( Liu W. et al, 2016 ), beef cattle ( Yejun et al, 2019 ), dairy cows ( Ma et al, 2020b ; Zhao et al, 2020 ), broiler ( Müştak et al, 2015 ), laying hens ( Long et al, 2018 ), Penaeus monodon ( Chen et al, 2013 ), grass carp ( Meng et al, 2019 ), and olive flounder ( Dharaneedharan et al, 2016 ). From the results of these studies, L. japonica extract can function as a potential alternative antibiotic in animal feeds.…”

Supplementation with honeysuckle extract improves growth performance, immune performance, gut morphology, and cecal microbes in geese

“…Meng et al found that supplementing HE could reduce the mRNA expression of fat synthesis-related genes, strengthen the intestinal mucosal barrier of grass carp, improve lipid metabolism and immune function, and reshape the intestinal flora ( 9 , 10 ). Zhao et al found that supplementing HE during the perinatal period improved dry matter intake, lactation capacity, anti-inflammatory properties, and antioxidant capacity of dairy cows ( 11 ). Its effect on geese has not been reported so far.…”