Effects of Glycerol-Producing Yeast Supplementation on Production Performance, Biochemical Indexes, Subclinical Ketosis Incidence and Rumen Fermentation Performance of Dairy Cows

Abstract

Glycerol could be used to alleviate negative energy balance in highproducing dairy cows as an important precursor participating of glucose synthesis. However, some industrial glycerol may do harm to cow health because of some mixed toxic chemicals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of glycerol-producing yeast prepared in our laboratory on improving the production performance and reducing the subclinical ketosis incidence of transition dairy cows. The results showed that the concentrations of the β-Hydroxybutyric Acid (BHBA) and Non-Esterified Fatty Acid (NEFA) in the groups with glycerol-producing yeast were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the concentrations of glucose, TP and the production of propionic acid were significantly increased (P<0.05) compared with the control groups on the 21st day. Moreover, the glycerol-producing yeast improved the milk quality by significantly increasing the rate of milk protein and milk fat (P<0.05). Rumen fermentation performance was improved by supplementation of glycerol-producing yeast with significant increase in propionic acid and Microbial Crude Protein (MCP) concentrations (P<0.05). Meanwhile, supplementation of glycerol-producing yeast reduced the incidence of subclinical ketosis by improving the blood glucose and NEFA concentration and decreasing the concentration of BHBA. In conclusion, glycerol-producing yeast supplementation benefits dairy cows on their production performance, some biochemical indexes, subclinical ketosis incidence and rumen fermentation performance. This study provided some supportive data for the application of glycerol-production yeast supplementation in dairy production.