Botanicals
Using botanicals in animal feed can have a positive effect on digestion and maintain general health and well-being.
The phase from late pregnancy to lactation (around 3 weeks prior to and 3 weeks post parturition) is known as the transition period and is a highly critical phase for dairy cows and poses numerous physiological challenges.
During this phase there is an increased risk of metabolic disorders of calcium homeostasis resulting in parturient paresis. In addition, the frequently low feed intake after calving combined with a high energy requirement (for the synthesis of colostrum and milk) leads to a negative energy balance. As a result, there is a strong mobilisation of body fat, which can lead to ketosis and fatty liver without intervention.
Metabolic imbalances, especially calcium deficiency after calving, are in practice often "door openers" for further (metabolic) diseases.
Calcium is necessary for many metabolic functions, such as skeletal formation, transmission of nerve impulses, muscle movement, blood clotting and enzyme activities, including insulin balance. With the onset of lactation, the need for calcium increases dramatically. At the end of gestation, the daily calcium requirement for the foetus is 4-5 g, a litre of milk contains 1.25 g calcium, a litre of colostrum even 2-2.5 g calcium. The regulatory mechanisms are extraordinarily challenged to keep the blood calcium concentration within the physiological range. The parathormone from the parathyroid gland, the calcitonin from the thyroid gland and the vitamin D3 (calcitriol) are at the centre of the regulation. It should be emphasised that hypocalcaemic parturient paresis is not caused by a primary calcium deficiency, but by a regulatory disorder of the above mechanisms. As calcium is involved in the control of insulin, hypocalcaemia after calving is often a gateway to other (metabolic) diseases, as demonstrated in the figure below.
During fat mobilisation, free fatty acids, free radicals (ROS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines stress the endoplasmic reticulum in the cell (ER stress). This process promotes the development of metabolic diseases (fatty liver syndrome, ketosis, insulin resistance) and chronic inflammation. The effective reduction of ER stress in the cell can prevent this. Especially plant polyphenols show positive effects on the cellular level in this regard.
At the onset of lactation, it is important to break the vicious circle of negative energy balance, fat mobilisation and fatty liver syndrome. Effective energy metabolism is crucial here, whereby L-carnitine plays a key role by transporting fatty acids into the mitochondria, where they are metabolised by β-oxidation to produce energy.
The more fats are broken down, the more important is the breakdown of acetyl-CoA by excretion of acetylcarnitine via urine and milk. This describes a further important function of L-carnitine. This reduces the formation of ketone bodies and the risk of ketosis.
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