Thyroprotein Feeding Research Articles

Effect of alkali-treated rice straw supplemented with spent tea leaf and thyroprotein on milk yield, milk composition and certain physiological parameters of dairy cows

Thirty-six Friesian cows in mid-lactation were used to compare the effects of nine treatments. Rice straw untreated (US), or treated with 40 g NaOH in 1.5 l H 2 O kg −1 straw (TS), was given ad libitum with a concentrate mixture containing 0 or 20% spent tea leaf (STL 0 and STL 20) and with or without thyroprotein (TP 10 or TP 0). The control treatment (C) represented the standard feeding practice adopted on the farm. The NaOH treatment increased milk yield by 22%, but lowered the butterfat content of milk by 6%. Milk yield and milk composition were not affected by spent tea leaf supplementation. Thyroprotein had no significant effect on milk yield or composition during the experimental period but depressed yield significantly after its withdrawal from the diet. It increased rectal temperature by 0.5° C and heart rate by 5 beats min −1. All animals on thyroprotein lost body condition. It is concluded that alkali-treated straw is a suitable source of roughage for low yielding cows but its use in practice may be uneconomic. Spent tea leaf is a suitable source of protein for ruminants at the 8% level of substitution in the total diet DM. Thyroprotein feeding is not economical under Sri Lanka conditions and is not recommended for animals on straw diets.

Effects of Thyroprotein on Excretion of Polychlorinated Biphenyls by Lactating Cows

Lactating dairy cows were fed 50mg daily of commercially available polychlorinated biphenyl Aroclor 1254 for 20 days. Upon withdrawal of this from the ration, groups were given 0, 2 g/100kg, or 4 g/100kg body weight of thyroprotein (Protamone) for 57 days. Animals that continued to lactate were studied for an additional 70 days. The average concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls in milk fat on day 20, the last day of dosing, was 6.01±.6ppm. Declines of concentrations in cows not fed thyroprotein were described by a two-component first order equation with half-lives of 5.7 and 68 days. Thyroprotein feeding provided a nearly dose responsive increase in heart and respiration rate and also weight losses among treated animals. Milk and fat production was increased in most animals; however, stage of lactation appeared to influence magnitude of response. Thyroprotein increased clearance of polychlorinated biphenyls during the thyroprotein feeding phase of the study. By day 52 daily excretion by control animals averaged 1.09 mg/day compared to 1.39 and 1.87 for animals receiving 2 or 4 g/100kg body weight of thyroprotein. Withdrawal of thyroprotein resulted in a sharp decline in excretion of polychlorinated biphenyls from thyroprotein treated animals. On experimental day 98, control animals had an average daily excretion of .87mg compared to .67 and .59 for the 2 and 4 g/100kg body weight of thyroprotein groups. These declines ultimately resulted in similar total excretion of polychlorinated biphenyls among all three experimental groups. Thyroprotein was not a practical means to increase rate of excretion of accumulated polychlorinated biphenyls.

Bovine Serum Thyroxine, Prolactin, Growth Hormone, Glucocorticoid, and Thyroxine Binding Globulin Response to Thyroprotein1,2

Twenty-one lactating Holstein cows were assigned randomly to groups of seven and received: (1) no treatment; (2) 15g thyroprotein daily for 5 wk; or (3) 15g thyroprotein daily for 13 wk. Combined averages for serum thyroxine of cows in thyroprotein groups increased linearly from a baseline of 54ng/ml to a peak of 135ng/ml at 6 days after thyroprotein feeding was begun. Serum thyroxine then decreased to approximately 80ng/ml at 23 days of thyroprotein feeding which was maintained during the remainder of the feeding period. Following thyroprotein withdrawal from the diet serum thyroxine concentration decreased to 24ng/ml at 6 days. Neither serum prolactin, growth hormone, nor total glucocorticoids were affected by thyroprotein feeding or withdrawal.Average milk production of cows in the control group decreased linearly with time. Milk production of cows fed thyroprotein for 5 wk averaged 2.2 to 3.3 kg/day more than cows in the control group and that of cows fed thyroprotein for 13 wk averaged .95 to 2.5 kg/day more than controls for 60 days, but between 60 and 91 days it was .9 kg/day less than controls.

Effect of Thyroid Status and Thiocyanate on Absorption and Excretion of Iodine by Cattle

Effects of thyroidectomy or iodine-131, thyroprotein feeding, and thiocyanate dosing on radioiodine metabolism in the bovine were studied in 34 animals. Two thyroidectomized calves excreted 44% more radioiodine in urine and 38% less in feces than two thyroid-intact calves. Oral thiocyanate increased urinary radioiodine 32% in thyroidectomized and 46% in intact calves while reducing fecal radioiodine 48% in thyroidectomized and 11% in intact calves. Urinary radioiodine clearance of two heifers was increased 52% by thiocyanate, but urine flow was not affected. Percentages of radioiodine doses cycled through the abomasum daily and recovered from digestive tracts at slaughter, respectively, were: 12 thyroid-intact cows, 468 and 77; two intact cows fed 10g sodium thiocyanate daily, 64 and 41; 10 thyroid-damaged cows, 506 and 149; and four thyroid-damaged cows fed 8g thyroprotein daily, 372 and 93. Thyroid damage had little effect on gastric radioiodine secretion but increased total digestive tract radioiodine because of greater volume of tract contents. Inhibition of gastric radioiodine secretion by thiocyanate reduced the digestive tract radioiodine pool. The digestive tract iodine pool may conserve iodine by reducing loss in urine.

Effect of Thyroprotein Feeding on Performance of Dwarf White Leghorn Pullets

Dwarf White Leghorn pullets provided 0.033% Protamone from one day of age had higher average body weight, feed consumption, and cloacal temperature than did control dwarf pullets at four weeks of age. The difference in feed consumption between the two groups continued to increase, while the difference in body weight and cloacal temperature remained constant up to 16 weeks of age; at 24 weeks of age control dwarfs had slightly higher average body weight and cloacal temperature. Feeding Protamone did not affect age at sexual maturity or rate of increase in egg production, but did result in a lower yolk weight, had no effect on yolk color and total egg weight, and gave a higher egg specific gravity at 24 weeks of age.Protamone feeding at 0.033% level from 24 to 44 weeks of age decreased egg production and increased feed consumed per hen-day and per dozen eggs, regardless of whether or not they received Protamone from 0 to 24 weeks of age. Egg weight was not affected by feeding Protamone from 24 to 44 weeks of age; however, eggs produced during that time were slightly smaller if the pullets were fed Protamone from 0 to 24 weeks of age, although this may not have been a true treatment effect. Yolk weight and yolk color at 44 weeks of age were not significantly affected by any treatment. Egg specific gravity was higher at 44 weeks of age if the eggs were from pullets fed Protamone from 24 to 44 weeks of age.Reversing the treatments and reducing the Protamone level to 0.011% from 44 to 64 weeks of age gave inconclusive results, although feed conversion appeared to be adversely affected while egg specific gravity seemed to be enhanced by the Protamone feeding.

Continuous and Non-Continuous Feeding of Thyroprotein to Finishing Steers

Continuous and Non-Continuous Feeding of Thyroprotein to Finishing Steers

Effect of Periodic Feeding of Thyroprotein on Milk Yield and Fat Test of Holstein Cows

Thyroprotein was fed to two groups of cows at 1 g/45kg body weight per day. One group of cows and first-calf heifers received thyroprotein for 5 days each month, and a second group of first-calf heifers received thyroprotein 10 days eash month for 9 mo. Milk yield was increased by .2 kg/day during the 5 days of thyroprotein feeding each month in comparison to the 5 days pretreatment whereas cows not receiving the hormone had an average daily decrease of .33kg. The highest average daily increase in milk yield occurred during 5 days starting on the 4th day of hormone feeding and continuing through 3 days after its withdrawal and amounted to an increase of .79kg in comparison to the 5 days pretreatment. The average daily increase in milk production of first-calf heifers fed thyroprotein for 10 days each month for the period starting on the 4th day of thyroprotein feeding and continuing for 3 days after its withdrawal was 1.06kg in comparison to the 5 days pretreatment. Milk fat tests increased on the 3rd post-treatment day when the hormone was fed for 5 days and on treatment day 8 when it was fed for 10 days. Rectal temperatures of heifers receiving thyroprotein for 10 day of its feeding in comparison to pretreatment values. No significant changes in rectal temperature occurred in cows and heifers fed thyroprotein for 5 days.

Retardation of Fatty Infiltration in Atrophic Muscle of Genetically Dystrophic Chickens by Diet or Exercise

Treatments designed to reduce accumulation of muscle fat which accompanies atrophy were studied in a line of genetically dystrophic chickens which had been specifically selected for early gross atrophy and rapid accumu lation of fat in the pectoralis muscles. These treatments consisted of: feeding high protein diets, restricting caloric intake, feeding of thyroprotein, and exer cise. While all treatments were successful in retarding lipid accumulation, it could not be completely prevented. These treatments did not appear to influence the rate of atrophy; therefore, lipid accumulation may be modified independent of atrophy. J. Nutr. 101: 453-464, 1971.

Effect of Thyroprotein Feeding on Dairy Cows

Sixty-three cows fed no thyroprotein averaged 7,265kg milk (308-day, mature equivalent compared to 7,237kg averaged by 63 cows fed 10g thyroprotein daily after 50 days postpartum. The maximum increase in milk production from thyroprotein feeding occurred during the first two weeks of feeding and amounted to a 7.0% increase over the control cows. From the 22nd to 42nd weeks of lactation milk production of thyroprotein-fed cows was less than that of controls. Milk fat tests were raised 0.41% (P<.10) for two weeks. Differences in lactation milk yield, fat test, and milk protein were not statistically significant. Fifteen cows fed thyroprotein from parturition averaged 6,516kg milk (308-day, mature equivalent) compared to 6,703kg for 18 control cows. Both control and thyroprotein-fed cows increased mature equivalent lactation yields for two or three successive years.Thyroprotein feeding resulted in marked reductions in body weight, barrel circumference, and body condition and marked increases in heart rates, respiration rates, and rectal temperatures. Cows and first-calf heifers receiving thyroprotein required more services per conception (P<0.05) and had longer calving intervals (P<0.01) than control cows. No significant differences were noted in other health related data between the thyroprotein-fed and control animals.

Secretion of DDT by Lactating Cows Fed Thyroprotein1,2

Six lactating cows were subjected to DDT [2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) -1, 1, 1-trichloroethane] contamination by intravenous dosing at a rate equivalent to 4ppm dietary intake for 14 consecutive days. Following a ten-day decline period, three animals were given a thyroid active substance44Protamone: A thyroactive casein supplied by Agri-Tech, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri. at the rate of 1 g/11kg body weight for 28 consecutive days. The DDT output in the milk of the control arid thyroproteindosed animals was followed for 58 days after the prescribed dosing. Milk and milk fat yield increased and body weight decreased in the animals receiving thyroprotein. These yield figures declined below the values in the control group after thyroprotein feeding ceased. Concentration of DDT in the milk rose during intravenous administration to an average of 30ppm and declined to about 7ppm for both groups prior to thyroprotein feeding. The pesticide content of the milk fat of the control animals declined steadily to 2ppm during the remaining 12 weeks of the experiment. The DDT level in the milk of the animals that received thyroprotein declined to only about 4ppm during the comparable time. When the milk pesticide was expressed in terms of mg excreted per day, the thyroprotein-fed animals had a 2 mg/day higher yield during the thyroprotein dosing period. One week after the end of thyroprotein feeding the yield level had assumed almost identical values in both groups of animals.

Effect of Feeding Thyroprotein to Dairy Cattle in a Subtropical Environment on Milk Composition and Production, Rumen Metabolism, and Fatty Acid Composition of Milk Fat

A trial using five control and five treatment animals was conducted, feeding 2.47g of thyroprotein (Protomone) per 100kg body weight for a 6-wk period. Treatments were continuous. Animals went on trial approximately two months after parturition. Concentrates were fed ad libitum to both groups. Thyroprotein was fed once daily. The adjusted mean production (kg per day) for the control and thyroprotein-fed animals was milk, 17.2 and 22.8**, 4% FCM, 17.3 and 22.4**; fat, 0.70 and 0.88**; total solids, 2.28 and 3.03**, SNF, 1.57 and 2.11*; protein, 0.62 and 0.76**. The milk protein content was significantly lower for the thyroprotein-fed animals. Rumen volatile fatty acids were significantly different. Thyroprotein feeding caused an increase in propionate and decrease in the butyrate content of the rumen. Milk fat analysis showed significant differences in the C12, C14, C16, and C181=fatty acids. Thyroprotein feeding caused a decrease in the saturated and an increase in the unsaturated fatty acids in milk fat. Feed consumption was not significantly different. Rectal temperatures were significantly higher and body weight loss significantly greater for the thyroprotein-fed animals.

Effect of Prepartum Thyroprotein Feeding Upon the Next Lactation

Summary Twenty-eight pairs of cows were carefully selected from two herds on the basis of previous lactation, age, and time of expected parturition. One of each pair was fed 10 g of thyroprotein daily from 30 days before expected calving until the day after calving, for the purpose of stimulating initial lactation levels. Other treatment and feeding were alike within pairs from 30 days prepartum to 15 wk of lactation. The treated cows averaged 5,101 lb FCM in 15 wk compared to 5,033 lb for the controls, a nonsignificant difference. Thyroprotein feeding reduced the rate of gain significantly in the prepartum period, but did not appear to affect any post-partum responses or the general health of the cows.

Increased Lactation Response in Cattle with Thyroxine 50% above Thyroxine Secretion Rate

Summary Nine lactating dairy cows were injected with thyroxine daily at a level 50% above their individual winter thyroxine secretion rates during the spring and summer to determine the effect upon milk yield, body temperature, and body weight. The body pool of thyroxine was raised to its ultimate level by one injection of thyroxine at the initiation of the experiment. One cow reached a new peak of milk yield (weekly average) during the 2nd wk, one the 3rd wk, and the seven other cows the 4th wk. The mean increase in milk yield was 27.6%, with a range from 12.1 to 67.9%. The effect of thyroxine at this level during the summer appeared to pose no problem in heat dissipation. The elevation in rectal temperature of the experimental cows was very small, with fluctuations in treated and nontreated cows quite comparable. The mean body weight loss was 9.7%, with a range of 3.7 to 14.2%. This loss was regained within 2 wk after cessation of thyroxine treatment. On the basis of the observed range in thyroxine secretion rate, and the beneficial effect of thyroxine upon milk yield administered at 50% above their secretion rate, it was suggested that the level of feeding thyroprotein might be reduced from 15g to about 10 g/1,000lb body weight/day in the great majority of dairy cows.

Feeding Thyroprotein to Cocks During Summer

INTRODUCTIONLOW fertility in eggs is a characteristic phenomenon commonly observed in summer hatches of fowl eggs in subtropic countries like Egypt (Hafez and Kamar, 1955). This may be due to a lot of factors, of which the most important one may be the male side when represented by semen production.This work was done in a trial to improve the characteristics of semen produced by the cocks by administering thyroprotein as a replacement for the decreased thyroidal activity that was observed to occur during hot weather (Winchester, 1940; and Reineke and Turner, 1945). This hot weather normally occurs during the summer in Egypt.Hyperthyroidism induced by feeding thyroprotein (0.02%) for a 16 week period to two year old Barred Rock males, did not affect semen volume or sperm concentration. However, there was some deterioration in methylene blue test, motility of spermatozoa and survival time at 4°C. and hence lowered …

Family Differences in Tolerance to High Levels of Protamone ,

ABSTRACT THE reports of feeding thyroprotein to chickens and its effect on growth are not consistent. It is not the objective of this paper to review all those results in detail but it should be mentioned that the level of thyroprotein fed, age of birds, and the season of the year are among the factors that account for the inconsistency in the results of the different investigators. Turner et al. (1944), Glazener et al. (1949), and Boone et al. (1950) found that when high levels of thyroprotein were fed, a marked decrease in the rate of growth was observed. Irwin et al. (1943) reported that severe mortality occurred when high levels of thyroprotein were added to the ration. The objective of this investigation was to determine if there are sire and dam family differences in tolerance of chicks to toxic levels of Protamone and to study the effect of high levels . . .

Antibiotics and Thyroid Size in Growing Chickens

The widespread use of antibiotics in poultry nutrition and therapeusis and the voluminous research literature in this field are too well known to require review. Most theories which attempt to explain the growth response which often results from antibiotic feeding are tied to the supposition that the antibiotic effect is somehow related to alteration of the numbers and/or types of intestinal microflora. The experimental evidence on this point is varied (see the reviews by Branion et al., 1953; Stokstad, 1954).Meites and Ogle (1951) reported that three crystalline antibiotics partially or completely overcame the growth inhibition induced by feeding thyroprotein to rats, but concluded that the “antithyrotoxic” effect was not due to direct antagonism between the antibiotics and thyroprotein. Maghrabi and Turner (1953) found, some evidence that aureomycin (50 mg./kg. of feed) depressed thyroid size slightly in young chickens. A recent report by Calesnick et al. (1954) indicated that antibiotics …

Effects on Economy and Efficiency of Milk Production when Thyroprotein Is Fed for a Short Period of Time to Milking Cows

Summary Three experiments involving 47 cows were performed, in which thyroprotein was fed for 60 days to determine its effect on milk production, body weight, butterfat test, roughage consunlption, efficiency of production, and monetary returns. Data from the experimental feeding period were combined with data from the post-experimental period in order to make a proper evaluation of theover-all effect of thyroprotein feeding on total milk produced, efficiency of production, and monetary returns. The average increase in milk production was about 20% for the period during which thyroprotein was fed. The variation in milk production response between individual cows was large. In two of the three experiments production decreased to a lower than normal level after thyroprotein was withdrawn from the ration, and production continued at this lowered level for the remainder of the observation period. When only a short post-experimental period of decreased production was considered~ there was an advantage in total FCM, efficiency, and monetary returns for the groups of cows fed thyroprotein, but longer postexperimental periods of decreased production lessened this advantage. In one experiment the cows were placed on pasture 5 days after thyroprotein feeding ceased and no decrease in production occurred. There was a net increase in milk produced and in monetary returns under these conditions as a result of feeding thyroprotein. The presence or absence of the decrease in milk production after thyroprotein was withdrawn from the ration appears to be the determining factor in the desirability of its use over a short term and its effect on milk yield, efficiency and monetary returns for the entire lactation. However, under practical conditions the increased milk produced during a particular period has other advantages, and this is especially true during the period when a fluid-milk base is. being established. In these three experiments the feeding of thyroprotein did not cause an. increase in the consumption of hay when it was fed ad libitum. The extra energy necessary for the proper maintenance of body weight and increased milk yield must be furnished in the form of extra grain. When thyroprotein was fed, there was an average increase in fat test. All cows showed a large decrease in body weight, which was alleviated but not prevented by feeding extra grain.

Influence of Thyroprotein and Darkness on Egyptian Chicken During Summer

CONTRADICTING results appear in the literature as to the effect of thyroprotein on egg production. Turner et al. (1945a, b, 1946a, b, 1947) found that thyroprotein feeding resulted in higher egg production than the controls during summer. On the other hand, Hutt and Gowe (1948), Godfrey (1949), Berg and Bearse (1951) and Oloufa (1953) found that thyroprotein caused a depression in egg production during the hot months of the year.While the results obtained by Turner et al. (1945a), Hoffman and Wheeler (1948), Turner (1948) and Berg and Bearse (1951) indicated that thyroprotein was without effect on egg weight, Blaxter et at. (1949) and Oloufa (1953) found that feeding thyroprotein resulted in a decline in the weight of eggs.There is an ample evidence that increased length of light exposure is the stimulating factor affecting egg production. Nicholas et al. (1944) found that increasing day length stimulated egg production in mature …

A Study of the Physiological Mechanisms Affecting Specific Gravity of Chicken Eggs

THE success of the incubation and of the storage of eggs depends to a large extent upon egg shell quality. The stronger and thicker the shell, the less breakage that will occur on farms and in marketing channels. The specific gravity of the whole egg has been shown by Olsson (1934) to be a good measure of shell thickness. Novikoff and Gutteridge (1949), comparing the different methods of determining shell strength in eggs, concluded that the specific gravity method is the most reliable.Relatively little is known regarding the effect of the various hormones on shell thickness. Data obtained by Asmundson and Pinsky (1935), Gutteridge and Pratt (1946), Gutteridge and Novikoff (1947), Hoffmann and Wheeler (1948), Godfrey (1949), Berg and Bearse (1951), and Savage et al. (1952), showed that feeding thyroprotein to laying hens improved shell quality as measured by the specific gravity of their eggs. Hutt and Gowe (1948) …

The Effect of Thyroprotein Feeding on the Blood Level of Inorganic Iodine, Protein-Bound Iodine and Cholesterol in Dairy Cows

The Effect of Thyroprotein Feeding on the Blood Level of Inorganic Iodine, Protein-Bound Iodine and Cholesterol in Dairy Cows