Lone Hymøller

"In different worlds: transport of dietary vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 in cattle plasma fractions" published on 28 Nov 2014 by Wageningen Academic.

"Vitamin A and E circulate in different cattle plasma fractions" published on 28 Nov 2014 by Wageningen Academic.

Mobilization and deposition in cows are different strategies of metabolism; hence, the aim was to study the possibility of reducing the crude protein (CP) supply during deposition to limit the use of protein supplements and minimize the environmental impact. A total of 61 Jersey and 107 Holstein cows were assigned to 4 mixed rations in a 2 × 2 factorial design with 2 concentrate to forage ratios (CFR) and 2 CP levels: high CFR (40:60) and recommended CP [16% of dry matter (DM); HCFR-RP], high CFR (40:60) and low CP (14% of DM; HCFR-LP), low CFR (30:70) and recommended CP (16% of DM; LCFR-RP), and low CFR (30:70) and low CP (14% of DM; LCFR-LP), where RP met the Danish recommendations. Cows were fed concentrate in an automatic milking unit. After calving, cows were fed HCFR-RP until entering deposition, defined as 11 kg (Jersey) or 15 kg (Holstein) of weight gain from the lowest weight after calving. Subsequently, cows either remained on HCFR-RP or changed to one of the other mixed rations. Comparing strategies during wk 9 to 30 of lactation showed higher dry matter intake (DMI) of mixed ration on HCFR compared with LCFR and on RP compared with LP. The DMI of the concentrate was higher on LCFR than on HCFR and higher on LP than on RP, resulting in overall higher DMI on HCFR and RP than on LCFR and LP. Crude protein intakes were higher on RP than on LP and starch intakes were higher on HCFR than on LCFR. Intakes of neutral detergent fiber tended to be higher on LCFR than on HCFR. Intakes of net energy for lactation were affected by CFR and CP level, with a higher intake on HCFR and RP than on LCFR and LP. No interactions were found between CFR and CP level for any feed intake variables. Yields of milk and energy-corrected milk were higher on RP than on LP, with no difference in yield persistency after the ration change. Milk composition did not differ among strategies but the protein to fat ratio was higher on HCFR than on LCFR and tended to be lower on RP than on LP. Differences in fatty acid composition were small, and de novo synthesis was high (>60%). Energy efficiency was higher on LCFR than on HCFR and no interaction with breed or parity was found. The N efficiency was higher on LP than RP, but with an interaction with breed due to lower N efficiency in Jersey than Holstein cows on HCFR-RP but higher N efficiency in Jersey than Holstein on LCFR-LP. In dairy production, concentrate in the mixed ration can be substituted with high-quality forage during deposition without negative effects on milk yield and composition when a sufficient CP level is ensured.

In vitrostudies with skin samples or pure precursors of cholecalciferol indicated that cholecalciferol synthesis during UV light exposure is a non-linear process. However,in vitrostudies indicate nothing about the relationship between sunlight exposure and physiological cholecalciferol status of living organisms. Due to the lack of cholecalciferol in plant material, this relationship is important for herbivores including domestic cattle, particularly in organic agriculture, because the use of synthetic additives, like cholecalciferol, is restricted in order to fulfil the principles of sustainable organic production. The major physiological metabolite of cholecalciferol is the liver-derived 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D₃). The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between sunlight exposure and 25(OH)D₃statusin vivoin large herbivores during mid-summer at 56°N. Five groups of cows were given access to pasture during 15, 30, 75, 150 or 300 min daily for 28 d in June and plasma analysed for 25(OH)D₃. Animals allowed 15, 30 or 75 min of daily access to pasture showed a declining linear relationship between plasma 25(OH)D₃and sampling day in contrast to animals allowed 150 or 300 min of pasture access which showed linear increasing plasma 25(OH)D₃status. Determined from the slopes of 25(OH)D₃concentration curves within treatments, breakeven for maintaining the initial 25(OH)D₃status of 45 nmol/l was 90 min pasture access per d during summer at 56°N.

Vitamin D exists in 2 forms that are important regarding vitamin D status and supply in cattle: vitamin D(2) (D(2)) and vitamin D(3) (D(3)). To become physiologically active, both D(2) and D(3) must undergo 25-hydroxylation in the liver. The resulting 25-hydroxyvitamin D(2) [25(OH)D(2)] and 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) [25(OH)D(3)] are measured as indicators of the physiological vitamin D status of cattle. The study used 14 Danish Holstein cows housed without access to sunlight. The cows were orally administered 250 mg (1.0 × 10(7)IU) of D(2) and D(3) in a cross-over design with 2 treatment groups and 2 study periods, rendering 4 treatments when carryover effects were taken into account: D(2) given first, D(2) given last after D(3), D(3) given first, and D(3) given last after D(2). Two weeks elapsed between the treatment in the first study period and the treatment in the second study period. Blood samples were collected 0, 3, 6, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 40, 48, 70, 94, 166, and 214 h after providing the oral bolus of vitamin to the cows. Comparisons between plasma levels of the metabolites D(2), D(3), 25(OH)D(2), and 25(OH)D(3) over time were made by comparing areas under the plasma concentration curves. Oral administration of D(3) increased plasma D(3) (182.6±17.1 ng/mL; mean ± SEM) and 25(OH)D(3) (103.5±10.0 ng/mL) more efficiently than oral administration of D(2) increased plasma D(2) (49.1±32.6 ng/mL) and 25(OH)D(2) (27.9±2.1 ng/mL). The D(3) given after an oral dose of D(2) was less efficient for increasing plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D(3) (61.2±12.0 ng/mL) compared with D(3) given without previous D(2) administration (103.5±10.0 ng/mL), whereas the plasma concentrations of D(3) itself were the same when given first (182.6±17.1 ng/mL) as when given after D(2) (200.0±123.9 ng/mL). The same occurred for plasma concentrations of D(2) metabolites both if D(2) was given first (49.1±32.6 ng/mL) and after D(3) (54.7±7.7 ng/mL). In conclusion, D(3) given after D(2) is less efficient at increasing the plasma status of 25(OH)D(3) than D(3) given without previous D(2) administration.

The ruminal fate of the fat-soluble vitamins D and E was studied in dairy cows. Ten to 15 kg of ruminal contents was taken from each cow through a ruminal fistula. A sample was taken out (0-h sample) and the rest of the contents were mixed with 4,360 mg of all-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E; study 1) or 4,360 mg of all-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate, 250 mg of ergocalciferol (vitamin D(2)), and 250 mg of cholecalciferol (vitamin D(3); study 2). After mixing, the ruminal contents were returned to the respective cows. Blood was collected 0, 6, 24, and 30 h after introducing the vitamins into the rumen. Samples of ruminal contents were collected at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 24, and 30 h (in vivo). From the 1-h sample, 6 subsamples from each cow were incubated at 37 °C and taken out at 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, and 30 h (in vitro). In vivo concentrations of added α-tocopherol, ergocalciferol, and cholecalciferol in the rumen first increased and subsequently declined due to dilution effects of eating and passage out of the rumen. The level of the free-alcohol form of α-tocopherol from the natural content in feed was constant throughout the in vivo study, in contrast to the content of total α-tocopherol, which indicated that no hydrolysis of the acetate form into alcohol form happened in the rumen. In vitro, all added vitamins were found at constant levels; hence, none of the added vitamins were degraded in ruminal contents. The concentration of α-tocopherol in plasma increased at a rate per milligram of ruminally introduced α-tocopherol below the rate of the increase in plasma ergocalciferol or cholecalciferol metabolites per milligram of introduced ergocalciferol or cholecalciferol, respectively, over 24h. In conclusion, ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol, and α-tocopheryl acetate proved to be stable in the rumen and in ruminal contents from high-yielding dairy cows. Changes in plasma concentrations of the vitamins relative to the amount of vitamin introduced to the rumen indicated a lower effect on plasma status of ergocalciferol than of cholecalciferol, and an even lower effect of α-tocopherol. The limited plasma response after a single dose of α-tocopheryl acetate led to the conclusion that oral single dose therapy with all-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate is of limited physiological value.

How hair-coated animals such as dairy cows synthesize endogenous vitamin D(3) during exposure to summer sunlight has been unclear since vitamin D(3) and its relation to sunlight was discovered. The fur of fur-bearing animals is thought to be comparable to clothing in humans, which prevents vitamin D(3) synthesis in the skin during exposure to sunlight. Different scenarios have been suggested but never tested in cows; for example, that vitamin D(3) is synthesized from sebum on the hair and ingested by cows during grooming or that body areas such as the udder and muzzle that have scant hair exclusively produce the vitamin. To test different scenarios, 16 Danish Holstein dairy cows were subjected to 4 degrees of coverage of their bodies with fabric that prevented vitamin D(3) synthesis in the covered skin areas. The treatments were horse blanket (cows fitted with horse blankets), udder cover (cows fitted with udder covers, horse blanket+udder cover (cows fitted with both horse blankets and udder covers), and natural (cows without any coverage fitted). The cows were let out to pasture daily between 1000 and 1500h for 4 wk in July and August 2009. Blood samples were collected 15 times during the study and analyzed for content of 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) [25(OH)D(3)] indicative of the animals' vitamin D(3) status. Results showed that uncovered cows had a higher 25(OH)D(3) concentration in plasma after 28 d of access to sunlight compared with covered cows and that the plasma concentration of 25(OH)D(3) was strongly inversely correlated to the body surface area covered. These results are consistent with findings in humans, wherein the vitamin D(3) status of different individuals was inversely proportional to the amount of clothing worn during exposure to artificial sunlight. Hence, it appears that human clothing and cow hair are not comparable with respect to prevention of vitamin D(3) synthesis and that cows, like humans, synthesize vitamin D(3) evenly over their body surface. That vitamin D(3) should be synthesized from sebum on the hair and obtained by cows as a result of grooming is not supported by the findings in the present study either, because large differences were found between the treatment groups. If grooming were the source of vitamin D(3), then a relatively even 25(OH)D(3) concentration between treatments would be expected, because covered cows would obtain vitamin D(3) by grooming uncovered herdmates.

Use of synthetic feed additives, including synthetic vitamin D₃(D₃) in the feed for cows and other ruminants, is not consistent with the international principles of organic farming. If dairy farmers wish to produce in accordance with the organic principles, production animals would be left with only their endogenous production of D₃from summer sunlight as a source of D₃. To examine the impact of supplemental synthetic D₃from the feed on the D₃status of dairy cattle in organic production in Nordic countries, 20 high-yielding dairy cows and 30 dairy steers were divided into two groups: one supplemented with synthetic D₃in the feed and one not supplemented with synthetic D₃. Vitamin D₃status of the animals was assessed by measuring the concentration of the liver-derived 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃(25OHD₃) in plasma. Results showed that 25OHD₃concentration in plasma from dairy cattle as well as from steers decreased during winter for both supplemented and unsupplemented groups. Unsupplemented cows and steers had approximately 2 ng 25OHD₃per ml plasma during winter, whereas supplemented animals had between 10 (cows) and 30 (steers) ng/ml. During summer and autumn there was no additive effect of supplementing with synthetic D₃since unsupplemented and supplemented animals had the same D₃status at this time of year. In all cows summer concentrations of 25OHD₃were 20–25 ng/ml and in all steers 40–50 ng/ml plasma. The decrease in vitamin D₃status during winter indicates that cows and steers are able to store D₃only to a limited extent. The results also show that cows or steers fed supplemental D₃according to Swedish recommendation throughout the year are not able to maintain their summer value of 25OHD₃during winter.