A field trial on the effects of pure sodium propionate and a combination with herbal extracts on short term development of subclinical ketosis

Effects of a Multicomponent Herbal Extract on the Course of Subclinical Ketosis in Dairy Cows - a Blinded Placebo-controlled Field-study

A blinded placebo-controlled multi-center on-farm trial was conducted in dairy cows with subclinical ketosis to investigate effects of a multicomponent herbal extract. Blood ketone levels were measured weekly in early lactating cows from 16 Swiss herds. Cows were subclassified based on their initial blood-β-hydroxybutyrate levels (≥ 1.0 [KET-low, 84 cows] and > 1.2 mmol/L [KET-high, 39 cows]) and randomly distributed to 3 groups treated orally with herbal extract containing Camellia sinensis, Cichcorium intybus, Gentiana lutea, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Taraxacum officinale, Trigonella foenum-graecum, and Zingiber officinale, sodium propionate, or placebo twice a day for 5 days. Milk yield, milk acetone, blood-β-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and glutamate dehydrogenase were analyzed over 2 wk. Linear mixed effect models were used for data analysis. No effects were found for nonesterifed fatty acids, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and glucose. Significantly higher glutamate dehydrogenase (29.71 U/L) values were found in herbal extract-treated animals compared to sodium propionate on day 7 (22.33 U/L). By trend, higher blood-β-hydroxybutyrate levels (1.36 mmol/L) were found in the placebo group of KET-high-cows on day 14 compared to the sodium propionate group (0.91 mmol/L). Milk yields of all treatment groups increased. Milking time and treatment showed a significant interaction for milk acetone: sodium propionate led to an immediate decrease, whereas herbal extracts resulted in a milk acetone decrease from day 7 on, reaching significantly lower milk acetone on day 14 (3.17 mg/L) when compared to placebo (4.89 mg/L). In conclusion, herbal extracts and sodium propionate are both likely to improve subclinical ketosis in dairy cows, however, by different modes of action.

A multicomponent herbal feed additive improves somatic cell counts in dairy cows - a two stage, multicentre, placebo-controlled long-term on-farm trial

In contrast to natural and historical diets of wild and domesticated ruminants, the diversity of plant species is limited in diets of modern dairy cows. Are "production diseases" linked to this? We conducted a trial to test the effects of a multicomponent herbal feed additive (HFA) on health, performance and fertility traits. A dose-finding study (DF) with 62 cows on 11 commercial farms compared a low (50 g) and a high (100 g) dose of HFA (HFA-50, HFA-100) with a placebo (PL). In a subsequent field trial (FT) with 280 cows on 30 commercial farms, HFA-100 was compared to PL. Cows were randomly assigned to HFA and PL groups and received HFA or PL individually daily from 14 days pre- to 300 days post-calving. Data were analysed with mixed effects models. No differences between HFA and PL were found regarding performance, body condition score and overall culling rates. A tendency towards lower milk urea for HFA-100 compared to PL (p = .06) was found in DF. HFA significantly reduced elevated milk acetone observations (≥10 mg/L) in the first 10 lactation weeks (HFA-100: 4%; HFA-50: 4%; PL: 12%) in DF. HFA-50 significantly reduced lameness incidence (HFA-100: 11%; HFA-50: 2%; PL: 14%) in DF. Calving intervals were 15 days shorter in HFA compared to PL in both trials, which could be confirmed by tendency (p = .07) in FT. In both trials, the proportion of test days with elevated somatic cell score (≥3.0) was significantly lower in HFA compared to PL (DF: HFA-100: 40%, HFA-50: 45% and PL: 55%; FT: HFA-100: 38% and PL: 55%) which is also reflected by tendency (p = .08) in lower culling rates due to udder diseases in FT. HFA showed no negative impact on any of the measured parameters. The effects of HFA indicate a potential of phytochemically rich and diverse feed additives for dairy cows' nutrition and physiology.