TY - JOUR

T1 - Only few benefits from propylene glycol drench in early lactation for cows identified as physiologically imbalanced based on milk spectra analyses

AU - Østergaard, S.

AU - Krogh, M. A.

AU - Oliveira, V. H.S.

AU - Larsen, T.

AU - Otten, N. D.

AU - GplusE Consortium

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The main objective of this study was to test the efficiency of a management system combining metabolic clustering of cows based on Fourier-transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectra of milk and targeted treatment of metabolically imbalanced cows with propylene glycol drench. We hypothesized that cows identified in a metabolically imbalanced status during early lactation were associated with subsequent impaired health, reproduction, and production, and that treatment with propylene glycol treatment would improve health, reproduction, and production relatively more in these cows than in control cows. We completed a prospective, randomized controlled trial with 356 early-lactation cows in 2 private dairy herds in Denmark from December 2017 to April 2018. Milk samples of cows were collected before treatment, from 4 to 9 d in milk, and after treatment, from 22 to 27 d in milk. Milk samples were analyzed using FT-MIR spectroscopy. We also measured 4 milk metabolites (β-hydroxybutyrate, isocitrate, malate, and glutamate) and fat and protein contents. Based on FT-MIR spectra and cluster analyses, cows were clustered into groups of metabolically imbalanced and healthy cows. Within each group, cows were allocated randomly to treatment with propylene glycol (500 mL for 5 d) or no treatment. We analyzed the effect of the treatment on cow-level variables: metabolic cluster, milk metabolites, fat and protein contents, and fat-to-protein ratio at a milk sampling after the treatment. Furthermore, we analyzed daily milk yield, calving to first service interval, and disease occurrence. Results showed only a few effects of propylene glycol treatment and few interactions between treatment and metabolic clusters. We found no significant main effects of propylene glycol treatment in any of these analyses. A negative effect of the imbalanced metabolic cluster was found for the outcome of calving to first service interval for multiparous cows. In conclusion, we found a longer calving to first service interval in metabolically imbalanced cows, but we were not able to demonstrate overall benefits from the applied detection of cows in imbalanced metabolic status in early lactation and follow-up by treatment with propylene glycol.

AB - The main objective of this study was to test the efficiency of a management system combining metabolic clustering of cows based on Fourier-transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectra of milk and targeted treatment of metabolically imbalanced cows with propylene glycol drench. We hypothesized that cows identified in a metabolically imbalanced status during early lactation were associated with subsequent impaired health, reproduction, and production, and that treatment with propylene glycol treatment would improve health, reproduction, and production relatively more in these cows than in control cows. We completed a prospective, randomized controlled trial with 356 early-lactation cows in 2 private dairy herds in Denmark from December 2017 to April 2018. Milk samples of cows were collected before treatment, from 4 to 9 d in milk, and after treatment, from 22 to 27 d in milk. Milk samples were analyzed using FT-MIR spectroscopy. We also measured 4 milk metabolites (β-hydroxybutyrate, isocitrate, malate, and glutamate) and fat and protein contents. Based on FT-MIR spectra and cluster analyses, cows were clustered into groups of metabolically imbalanced and healthy cows. Within each group, cows were allocated randomly to treatment with propylene glycol (500 mL for 5 d) or no treatment. We analyzed the effect of the treatment on cow-level variables: metabolic cluster, milk metabolites, fat and protein contents, and fat-to-protein ratio at a milk sampling after the treatment. Furthermore, we analyzed daily milk yield, calving to first service interval, and disease occurrence. Results showed only a few effects of propylene glycol treatment and few interactions between treatment and metabolic clusters. We found no significant main effects of propylene glycol treatment in any of these analyses. A negative effect of the imbalanced metabolic cluster was found for the outcome of calving to first service interval for multiparous cows. In conclusion, we found a longer calving to first service interval in metabolically imbalanced cows, but we were not able to demonstrate overall benefits from the applied detection of cows in imbalanced metabolic status in early lactation and follow-up by treatment with propylene glycol.

KW - dairy cow

KW - milk biomarker

KW - physiological and metabolic imbalance

KW - propylene glycol

U2 - 10.3168/jds.2019-17205

DO - 10.3168/jds.2019-17205

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31864731

AN - SCOPUS:85076863546

VL - 103

SP - 1831

EP - 1842

JO - Journal of Dairy Science

JF - Journal of Dairy Science

SN - 0022-0302

IS - 2

ER -