Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T05:50:01.087Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A comparative study of the metabolic profile, insulin sensitivity and inflammatory response between organically and conventionally managed dairy cattle during the periparturient period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2014

A. Abuelo*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago de Compotela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
J. Hernández
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago de Compotela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
J. L. Benedito
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago de Compotela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
C. Castillo
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago de Compotela, Campus Universitario s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
Get access

Abstract

The number of organically managed cattle (OMC) within the European Union has increased tremendously in the last decade. However, there are still some concerns about animals under this farming system meeting their dietary requirements for milk production. The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic adaptations to the onset of lactation in three different herds, one conventional and two organic ones. Twenty-two conventionally managed cattle (CMC) and 20 from each organic farm were sampled throughout the periparturient period. These samplings were grouped into four different stages: (i) far-off dry, (ii) close-up dry, (iii) fresh and (iv) peak of lactation and compared among them. In addition, the results of periparturient animals were also compared within each management type with a control group (animals between the 4th and 5th months of pregnancy). Metabolic profiles were used to assess the health status of the herds, along with the quantification of the acute phase proteins haptoglobin and serum amyloid A, insulin and the calculation of different surrogate indices of insulin sensitivity. Generalised linear mixed models with repeated measurements were used to study the effect of the stage, management type or their interaction on the serum variables studied. The prevalence of subclinical ketosis was higher in OMC, although they showed better insulin sensitivity, a lower degree of inflammation and less liver injury, without a higher risk of macromineral deficiencies. Therefore, attention should be paid on organic farms to the nutritional management of cows around the time of calving in order to prevent the harmful consequences of excessive negative energy balance. Moreover, it must be taken into account that most of the common practices used to treat this condition in CMC are not allowed on a systematic basis in OMC.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abuelo, A, De Koster, J, Hernandez, J, Opsomer, G, Grufman, L and Castillo, C 2012. Quantifying bovine insulin: conversion of units. Veterinary Clinical Pathology 41, 308310.Google Scholar
Abuelo, A, Hernandez, J, Benedito, JL and Castillo, C 2013. Oxidative stress index (OSi) as a new tool to assess redox status in dairy cattle during the transition period. Animal 7, 13741378.Google Scholar
Balogh, O, Szepes, O, Kovacs, K, Kulcsar, M, Reiczigel, J, Alcazar, JA, Keresztes, M, Febel, H, Bartyik, J, Fekete, SG, Fesus, L and Huszenicza, G 2008. Interrelationships of growth hormone AluI polymorphism, insulin resistance, milk production and reproductive performance in Holstein-Friesian cows. Veterinarni Medicina 53, 604616.Google Scholar
Bossaert, P, Leroy, JL, De Campeneere, S, De Vliegher, S and Opsomer, G 2009. Differences in the glucose-induced insulin response and the peripheral insulin responsiveness between neonatal calves of the Belgian Blue, Holstein-Friesian, and East Flemish breeds. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 44044411.Google Scholar
Castillo, C, Hernández, J, Bravo, A, López-Alonso, M, Pereira, V and Benedito, JL 2005. Oxidative status during late pregnancy and early lactation in dairy cows. The Veterinary Journal 169, 286292.Google Scholar
De Koster, JD and Opsomer, G 2013. Insulin resistance in dairy cows. The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice 29, 299322.Google Scholar
European Commission 2008. Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 of 5 September 2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control. Official Journal of the European Union L250, 184.Google Scholar
Eurostat 2014. Certified organic livestock by type of species. Retrieved 18 January 2014, from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database Google Scholar
Fall, N and Emanuelson, U 2009. Milk yield, udder health and reproductive performance in Swedish organic and conventional dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Research 76, 402410.Google Scholar
Fall, N, Gröhn, YT, Forslund, K, Essen-Gustafsson, B, Niskanen, R and Emanuelson, U 2008. An observational study on early-lactation metabolic profiles in Swedish organically and conventionally managed dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 39833992.Google Scholar
Farney, JK, Mamedova, LK, Coetzee, JF, KuKanich, B, Sordillo, LM, Stoakes, SK, Minton, JE, Hollis, LC and Bradford, BJ 2013. Anti-inflammatory salicylate treatment alters the metabolic adaptations to lactation in dairy cattle. American Journal of Physiology Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology 305, R110R117.Google Scholar
Garro, CJ, Mian, L and Cobos Roldan, M 2013. Subclinical ketosis in dairy cows: prevalence and risk factors in grazing production system. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jpn.12141 Google Scholar
Gong, J, Lee, W, Garnsworthy, P and Webb, R 2002. Effect of dietary-induced increases in circulating insulin concentrations during the early postpartum period on reproductive function in dairy cows. Reproduction 123, 419427.Google Scholar
Hamilton, C, Forslund, K, Hansson, I, Emanuelson, U and Ekman, T 2002. Health of cows, calves and young stock on 26 organic dairy herds in Sweden. Veterinary Record 150, 503508.Google Scholar
Harðarson, G 2002. Is the modern high potential dairy cow suitable for organic farming conditions? Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 43, 15.Google Scholar
Hardeng, F and Edge, VL 2001. Mastitis, ketosis, and milk fever in 31 organic and 93 conventional Norwegian dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science 84, 26732679.Google Scholar
Hayton, A 2012. Organic dairy farming 2. Management and control of disease. In Practice 34, 446453.Google Scholar
Heinrichs, J, Jones, C and Bailey, K 1997. Milk components: understanding the causes and importance of milk fat and protein variation in your dairy herd. In Dairy & Animal Science Fact Sheet, pp. 1e8e. Retrieved from January 18, 2014 from http://goo.gl/N9rU9iGoogle Scholar
Herdt, TH 2000. Variability characteristics and test selection in herd-level nutritional and metabolic profile testing. Veterinary Clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice 16, 387403.Google Scholar
Herdt, TH, Rumbeiha, W and Braselton, WE 2000. The use of blood analyses to evaluate mineral status in livestock. The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice 16, 423444.Google Scholar
Holtenius, P and Holtenius, K 2007. A model to estimate insulin sensitivity in dairy cows. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 49, 29.Google Scholar
Jorritsma, R, Wensing, T, Kruip, T, Vos, PL and Noordhuizen, JP 2003. Metabolic changes in early lactation and impaired reproductive performance in dairy cows. Veterinary Research 34, 1126.Google Scholar
Kerestes, M, Faigl, V, Kulcsár, M, Balogh, O, Földi, J, Fébel, H, Chilliard, Y and Huszenicza, G 2009. Periparturient insulin secretion and whole-body insulin responsiveness in dairy cows showing various forms of ketone pattern with or without puerperal metritis. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 37, 250261.Google Scholar
McArt, JA, Nydam, DV, Oetzel, GR, Overton, TR and Ospina, PA 2013. Elevated non-esterified fatty acids and β-hydroxybutyrate and their association with transition dairy cow performance. The Veterinary Journal 198, 560570.Google Scholar
Muniyappa, R, Lee, S, Chen, H and Quon, MJ 2008. Current approaches for assessing insulin sensitivity and resistance in vivo: advantages, limitations, and appropriate usage. American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism 294, E15E26.Google Scholar
Oba, M and Allen, MS 2003. Effects of corn grain conservation method on feeding behavior and productivity of lactating dairy cows at two dietary starch concentrations. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 174183.Google Scholar
Odhiambo, JF, Farooq, U, Iqbal, S, Mansmann, D, Zebeli, Q, Dunn, SM and Ametaj, BN 2013. Profiles of energy metabolites and haptoglobin in dairy cows under organic management in Alberta farms. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 03, 105113.Google Scholar
Ospina, PA, McArt, JA, Overton, TR, Stokol, T and Nydam, DV 2013. Using nonesterified fatty acids and beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations during the transition period for herd-level monitoring of increased risk of disease and decreased reproductive and milking performance. The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice 29, 387412.Google Scholar
Padel, S, Schmid, O and Lund, V 2004. Organic livestock standards. In Animal health and welfare in organic agriculture (ed. M Vaarst, S Roderick, V Lund and W Lockeretz), pp. 5772. CABI Publishing, Cambridge, MA, USA.Google Scholar
Piccione, G, Messina, V, Alberghina, D, Giannetto, C, Casella, S and Assenza, A 2011. Seasonal variations in serum protein fractions of dairy cows during different physiological phases. Comparative Clinical Pathology 21, 14391443.Google Scholar
Roesch, M, Doherr, MG and Blum, JW 2005. Performance of dairy cows on Swiss farms with organic and integrated production. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 24622475.Google Scholar
Rosati, A and Aumaitre, A 2004. Organic dairy farming in Europe. Livestock Production Science 90, 4151.Google Scholar
Russell, KE and Roussel, AJ 2007. Evaluation of the ruminant serum chemistry profile. Veterinary clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice 23, 403426.Google Scholar
Rutherford, KM, Langford, FM, Jack, MC, Sherwood, L, Lawrence, AB and Haskell, MJ 2009. Organic dairy cow management and indicators of energy balance. Veterinary Record 165, 147148.Google Scholar
Sejersen, H, Sørensen, MT, Larsen, T, Bendixen, E and Ingvartsen, KL 2012. Liver protein expression in dairy cows with high liver triglycerides in early lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 24092421.Google Scholar
Sordillo, LM and Raphael, W 2013. Significance of metabolic stress, lipid mobilization, and inflammation on transition cow disorders. The Veterinary clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice 29, 267278.Google Scholar
Van Saun, RJ 2009. Metabolic profiling. In Food animal practice (ed. DE Anderson and DM Rings), pp. 153162. W.B. Saunders, Saint Louis, MO, USA.Google Scholar
Yuan, K, Farney, JK, Mamedova, LK, Sordillo, LM and Bradford, BJ 2013. TNFα altered inflammatory responses, impaired health and productivity, but did not affect glucose or lipid metabolism in early-lactation dairy cows. PLoS One 8, e80316.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Abuelo Supplementary Material

Table S1

Download Abuelo Supplementary Material(File)
File 25.3 KB