Metaphylactic effect of calcium on milk composition and animal health in post-partum dairy cows.

Kássio D Albani,Matheus D Baldissera,Gabriela Campigotto,Aleksandro S Da Silva,Leandro S Lopes

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201920180589

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of subcutaneous calcium administration in post-partum dairy cows with respect to carbohydrate, protein and lipids metabolism, as well as its effects on milk composition. Twenty post-partum dairy cows were randomly divided into two groups (n=10): a control and a treated group with a single dose (150 mL) of calcium. Blood collection was performed on post-partum days 1, 2, 3, 7 and 10. In addition, we measured serum levels of total calcium, total proteins, albumin, globulins, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, as well as creatine kinase (CK) activity. We determined milk composition on post-partum days 5, 10 and 20. Serum total calcium levels was higher on post-partum days 3 and 7 in the treated group. Serum urea (day 3) and triglycerides (days 7 and 10) levels were higher in the treated group, as were CK activity levels at post-partum days 2 and 3. Serum glucose and cholesterol levels were lower on post-partum day 2 in treated animals. Fat (day 20) and lactose (day 10) content in milk samples were higher than in the treated animals. We concluded that treatment with calcium in cows during the post-partum period changes biochemical variables related to metabolism.

Highlights

Livestock production, including milk production, HEALTH SCIENCESAn Acad Bras Cienc (2019) 91(2)METAPHYLACTIC EFFECT OF CALCIUM IN DAIRY COWS it is a period when the animal has a negative energy balance, using a large portion of her reserves for production of colostrum and milk (HernándezCastellano et al 2017).Hypocalcemia, associated with placental retention, is the principal disturbance found in cows during the post-partum period, since the animals do not maintain physiological concentrations of serum calcium (Goff and Koszewski 2018)
According to Santos (2011), these disturbances can be prevented by two main methods, i.e., the use of Ca deficient diets, which stimulate activity and paratormonium secretion (PTH) (Albani and Da Silva 2017); or one second method, easier to implement and more effective in the control of subclinical hypocalcemia, is the manipulation of the cationic-anionic balance of the diet, which influences PTH activity and, the mechanism of active absorption of calcium (Albani et al 2017)
No clinical signs linked to hypocalcemia, placenta retention and mastitis were observed in either group

Summary

Introduction

Livestock production, including milk production, HEALTH SCIENCESAn Acad Bras Cienc (2019) 91(2)METAPHYLACTIC EFFECT OF CALCIUM IN DAIRY COWS it is a period when the animal has a negative energy balance, using a large portion of her reserves for production of colostrum and milk (HernándezCastellano et al 2017).Hypocalcemia, associated with placental retention, is the principal disturbance found in cows during the post-partum period, since the animals do not maintain physiological concentrations of serum calcium (Goff and Koszewski 2018). According to Santos (2011), these disturbances can be prevented by two main methods, i.e., the use of Ca deficient diets, which stimulate activity and paratormonium secretion (PTH) (negative feedback) (Albani and Da Silva 2017); or one second method, easier to implement and more effective in the control of subclinical hypocalcemia, is the manipulation of the cationic-anionic balance of the diet, which influences PTH activity and, the mechanism of active absorption of calcium (Albani et al 2017). Another option would be oral calcium supplementation, which was beneficial even for dairies with a very low incidence of hypocalcemia (Oetzel and Miller 2012, Oetzel 2013), there is controversy as to the beneficial effects of this practice (Martinez et al 2016)

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