Effects of rumen‐protected folic acid and rumen‐protected sodium selenite supplementation on lactation performance, nutrient digestion, ruminal fermentation and blood metabolites in dairy cows

Abstract

BACKGROUND Considering the insufficient ruminal synthesis of folic acid (FA), the higher degradability of FA, and the reduction of sodium selenite (SS) by ruminal microbes into non‐absorbable elemental Se, this study evaluated the effects of rumen‐protected FA (RPFA) and rumen‐protected SS (RPSS) on lactation performance, nutrient digestion and blood metabolites in dairy cows. RESULTS Dry matter (DM) intake and milk composition were unaltered, milk and milk fat yields were higher for both supplements, and milk protein yield was higher for RPFA addition. Digestibility of DM, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre was higher for both supplements, whereas that of organic matter and crude protein was higher for RPFA addition. Ruminal pH and ammonia N were lower, and concentration of total volatile fatty acids was higher for both supplements. Activity of cellobiase and xylanase was higher for RPFA addition, whereas that of pectinase and protease was higher for both supplements. The populations of total ruminal fungi, protozoa, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens were higher for both supplements. The RPFA × RPSS interaction was significant for α‐amylase activity, total ruminal bacteria and R. albus populations; these three variables were increased by RPSS but the increase was greater when cows were also fed RPFA. CONCLUSION The results indicated that addition of RPFA or RPSS improved lactation performance, nutrient digestibility and ruminal fermentation in dairy cows by stimulating ruminal microbial growth and enzyme activity. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Effects of Selenium Supplementation on Rumen Microbiota, Rumen Fermentation, and Apparent Nutrient Digestibility of Ruminant Animals: A Review

“…On the other hand, the molar proportion of butyrate was higher in the rumen of cows, bulls, and rams fed different Se supplements than in the rumen of animals fed basal diet [25,69,79]. In contrast, rumen-protected sodium selenite (4.8 mg/cow/day) or coated sodium selenite (0.1, 0.2, or 0.3 mg/kg DM) supplementation reduced the molar proportion of butyrate in the rumen of dairy cows compared with non-treatment [26,77]. Moreover, the molar proportion of acetate was lower in dairy bulls fed sodium selenite and coated sodium selenite compared with animals receiving the basal diet [79].…”

“…In one study, Se was supplemented to grass as a fertilizer [25]; in another study, Se was provided to animals orally [76]; and in the rest of the studies, Se was mixed with the diet. As shown in Table 1, different dietary Se species increased total VFA concentrations and molar proportions of propionate in the rumen fluid of dairy cows [24,26,69,77], Holstein bulls [78,79], Holstein dairy calves [80], goats [81,82], sheep [25,73,75,83], and lambs [84,85]. Lambs and sheep fed organic or inorganic Se diet exhibited an increase in the production of ruminal acetate, iso-butyrate, and iso-valerate compared with the control group [83][84][85].…”

“…Moreover, the molar proportion of acetate was lower in dairy bulls fed sodium selenite and coated sodium selenite compared with animals receiving the basal diet [79]. All types of dietary Se decreased acetate to propionate (A to P) ratio in the rumen fluid of different ruminants [24][25][26]69,73,75,[77][78][79][80]86]. In few instances, inorganic and organic Se at different doses had no effects on ruminal total VFA [86,87], composition of VFA [86][87][88][89], and A to P ratio [84,[86][87][88].…”

Comparison of the microbial communities of alpacas and sheep fed diets with three different ratios of corn stalk to concentrate

“…In a previous study, Li and Hou (2007) found that the quantities of fungal zoospores in the culture fluid were significantly higher in sheep than in goats, and that the digestibility of straw dry matter tended to be higher in sheep than in goats. Also, Du et al (2019) observed that larger populations of fungi supported the higher digestibility of neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre in dairy cows, implying that higher populations of fungi in the forestomach could lead to increased lignocellulose digestibility. The higher proportion of fungi in alpacas, as observed in the present study, may be the reason camelids digest poor‐quality roughage more efficiently than sheep (Dulphy & Demarquilly, 1994; Dulphy et al., 1997; San & Bryant, 1989).…”

Multifaceted role of one-carbon metabolism on immunometabolic control and growth during pregnancy, lactation and the neonatal period in dairy cattle

“…glycolysis, GSH metabolism and folate biosynthesis) [105]. In midlactation cows, Du et al [114] observed an increase in milk, FCM and milk protein yields when rumenprotected folate was supplemented for 90 d. They also observed an increase in plasma albumin with FA, suggesting a potential reduction in inflammation. However, no other parameters of inflammation were measured [114].…”