Short communication: Decreasing the dietary ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids increases the n-3 concentration of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in weaned Holstein heifer calves

Abstract

Utilization of nutrients to improve overall heifer health is of interest because of the importance of replacement heifers to the dairy industry. The objective of our study was to compare the effect of supplementation of dietary n-3 and n-6 fatty acids (FA) on FA concentrations in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of Holstein calves. Twenty-seven Holstein heifer calves (107 ± 2.6 d of age; 142.6 ± 6.5 kg of body weight) from the university research and teaching herd were randomly assigned to a common TMR supplemented with 1 of 3 treatments: Ca salts of flaxseed FA (Virtus Nutrition, Corcoran, CA) containing 35% 18:3 n-3 (N3), Ca salts of soybean FA (Virtus Nutrition) containing 50% 18:2 n-6 (N6), or a 50:50 mix of N3 and N6. Treatments were supplemented with FA at 4% of dietary dry matter and fed for 30 d. Feed intake was recorded daily, and body weight, wither height, and body condition score were measured weekly throughout the study. On d 28 heifers were vaccinated with a Pasteurella vaccine and the temperature response to the vaccine was recorded. Blood was collected on d 0 and 28 for PBMC isolation. After total lipid extraction and FA methyl ester preparation, FA composition of PBMC was measured. We observed no effect of treatment on body weight gain, body condition score change, or wither height change. Heifers receiving the N3 diet had a lower temperature response to Pasteurella challenge compared with both the mix and N6 diets. Heifers consuming the N3 diet had a greater content of total n-3 FA, α-linolenic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid in PBMC compared with heifers fed the N6 and mix diets. Heifers receiving the N3 diet also had a lower content of total n-6 FA, linoleic acid, and arachidonic acid in PBMC than heifers fed the N6 and mix diets. In conclusion, our study determined that feeding weaned female Holstein heifers a diet high in n-3 FA increased concentrations of n-3 FA in PBMC.

Effects of colostrum management on transfer of passive immunity and the potential role of colostral bioactive components on neonatal calf development and metabolism

“…Adding fish and flaxseed oil and ɑ-tocopherol to colostrum did not alter indicators of health or growth performance; but, supplementation increased plasma ω-3 FA concentrations, decreased plasma ɑ-tocopherol and oxidant status index during wk 1 postnatal, and tended to decrease reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (Opgenorth et al, 2020b). When ω-FA are supplemented in WM or milk replacer, calves are often healthier and grow at faster rates (Karcher et al, 2014;Garcia et al, 2015;Worden et al, 2018;McDonnell et al, 2019;Śpitalniak-Bajerska et al, 2020). Similar responses are observed when ω-FA are supplemented in starter postweaning (Kadkhoday et al, 2017).…”

Modulating immunometabolism in transition dairy cows: the role of inflammatory lipid mediators

“…Furthermore, resolvins are another group of oxylipids, derived from docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which promote the resolution of inflammation. In bovine cells, omega-3 FAs were shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in endothelial cells ( Contreras et al, 2012 ), and to lower the lymphocyte response to mitogens and natural killer cell ability ( Worden et al, 2018 ).…”

Response to Incremental Replacement of Palm Oil with Fish Oil in Starter Diet on Growth Performance, Plasma Metabolites, Ruminal Fermentation, and Behavior of Dairy Calves

“…In addition to being a rich source of energy, fatty acids (FAs), especially n-3 poly-unsaturated FAs, serve various biological functions, including provision of anti-inflammatory or pro-resolving precursors [1]. Calves are born with low reserves of FAs [2], and their tissues contain low amounts of n-3 fatty acids because ruminant diets (high-grain diets) generally contain low concentrations of n-3 FAs compared to n-6 FAs. Therefore, adding appropriate amounts of n-3 FAs by including, e.g., fish oil in the diet of calves may be a valuable nutritional strategy to resolve inflammation [1] and improve their performance.…”