Low doses of lactoferrin supplementation in weaning calves

Abstract

Different trials demonstrated lactoferrin (LF) to possess antimicrobial, antiviral, antimycotic and anti-inflammatory activity. This molecule is an iron-binding protein that could have preventive effects on calf diseases. Several authors studied the effects of LF at doses between 1 and 10 g/calf/day as a supplement in milk administrated to weaning calves. The results are variable and not always consistent. Twenty-two female replacement calves divided into 2 groups (Control-C and Treated-LF) during a 56-d experimental period were employed to investigate the effect of the use of 0.1 g/d of LF during weaning on growth performances, feed efficiency and health status. The field trial was conducted employing an early weaning protocol (49-d of length, excluding the colostral phase). After parturition, density and immunoglobulin G (IgG) content of dam colostrum were measured as a colostrum quality indicator. Only colostrum with at least 50 mg/mL of IgG was bottle-fed to the calf. Morphometric measurements and feedstuff intake were recorded weekly. Health status and milk consumption were evaluated daily. Calves receiving low doses of LF had numerically less incidence of diarrhoea than the C group (P > 0.05). From a statistical point of view, any significant difference was observed between groups both on growth performances and feed efficiency. A trend for an increase of the FCR was found for LF group at weaning (P = 0.099). More researches are needed to define the optimal dose and the real action of LF in weaning calves.

Keywords: calf, lactoferrin, pre-weaned, performances, health status

References

Abdel fattah, A., Mohammed, H., Youssef, M., Saleem, A.-S., & Youniss, I. (2019). Assessment the Calf’s Welfare Due to The Gender, Number of Offspring and Calving Status in Holstein Calves. SVU-International Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 2(1), 119–130. https://doi.org/10.21608/svu.2019.6656.1002

Bartier, A. L., Windeyer, M. C., & Doepel, L. (2015). Evaluation of on-farm tools for colostrum quality measurement. Journal of Dairy Science, 98(3), 1878–1884. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2014-8415

Bielmann, V., Gillan, J., Perkins, N. R., Skidmore, A. L., Godden, S., & Leslie, K. E. (2010). An evaluation of Brix refractometry instruments for measurement of colostrum quality in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 93(8), 3713–3721. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2943

Cho, Y. il, & Yoon, K. J. (2014). An overview of calf diarrhea - infectious etiology, diagnosis, and intervention. Journal of Veterinary Science, 15(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2014.15.1.1

Comino, L., Tabacco, E., Righi, F., Revello-Chion, A., Quarantelli, A., & Borreani, G. (2014). Effects of an inoculant containing a Lactobacillus buchneri that produces ferulate-esterase on fermentation products, aerobic stability, and fibre digestibility of maize silage harvested at different stages of maturity. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 198, 94–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2014.10.001

Cowles, K. E., White, R. A., Whitehouse, N. L., & Erickson, P. S. (2006). Growth characteristics of calves fed an intensified milk replacer regimen with additional lactoferrin. Journal of Dairy Science, 89(12), 4835–4845. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(06)72532-2

English, E. A., Hopkins, B. A., Stroud, J. S., Davidson, S., Smith, G., Brownie, C., & Whitlow, L. W. (2007). Lactoferrin supplementation to holstein calves during the preweaning and postweaning phases. Journal of Dairy Science, 90(11), 5276–5281. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0361

García-Montoya, I. A., Cendón, T. S., Arévalo-Gallegos, S., & Rascón-Cruz, Q. (2012). Lactoferrin a multiple bioactive protein: An overview. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects, 1820(3), 226–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagen.2011.06.018

Godden, S. (2008). Colostrum Management for Dairy Calves. Veterinary Clinics of North America - Food Animal Practice, 24(1), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2007.10.005

Habing, G., Harris, K., Schuenemann, G. M., Piñeiro, J. M., Lakritz, J., & Clavijo, X. A. (2017). Lactoferrin reduces mortality in preweaned calves with diarrhea. Journal of Dairy Science, 100(5), 3940–3948. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-11969

Heinrichs, A. J., Jones, C. M., Erickson, P. S., Chester-Jones, H., & Anderson, J. L. (2020). Symposium review: Colostrum management and calf nutrition for profitable and sustainable dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science, 103(6), 5694–5699. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-17408

Jamrozik, J., & Miller, S. P. (2014). Genetic evaluation of calving ease in Canadian Simmentals using birth weight and gestation length as correlated traits. Livestock Science, 162(1), 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2014.01.027

Joslin, R. S., Erickson, P. S., Santoro, H. M., Whitehouse, N. L., Schwab, C. G., & Rejman, J. J. (2002). Lactoferrin supplementation to dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science, 85(5), 1237–1242. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(02)74187-8

Legrand, D., Pierce, A., Elass, E., Carpentier, M., Mariller, C., & Mazurier, J. (2008). Lactoferrin structure and functions. In Bioactive components of milk (pp. 163–194). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02018076

Lokke, M. M., Engelbrecht, R., & Wiking, L. (2016). Covariance structures of fat and protein influence the estimation of IgG in bovine colostrum. Journal of Dairy Research, 83(1), 58–66. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022029915000734

Maunsell, F., & Donovan, G. A. (2008). Biosecurity and Risk Management for Dairy Replacements. Veterinary Clinics of North America - Food Animal Practice, 24(1), 155–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2007.10.007

Mechor, G. D., Gröhn, Y. T., McDowell, L. R., & Van Saun, R. J. (1992). Specific Gravity of Bovine Colostrum Immunoglobulins as Affected by Temperature and Colostrum Components. Journal of Dairy Science, 75(11), 3131–3135. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(92)78076-X

Morrill, K. M., Conrad, E., Lago, A., Campbell, J., Quigley, J., & Tyler, H. (2012). Nationwide evaluation of quality and composition of colostrum on dairy farms in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science, 95(7), 3997–4005. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2011-5174

NRC. (2001). Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle. National Research Council. (N. A. Press, Ed.) (Nutrition,). National Academies.
Pan, Y., Rowney, M., Guo, P., & Hobman, P. (2007). Biological properties of lactoferrin: An overview. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology, 62(1), 31–42.

Pempek, J. A., Holder, E., Proudfoot, K. L., Masterson, M., & Habing, G. (2018). Short communication: Investigation of antibiotic alternatives to improve health and growth of veal calves. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(5), 4473–4478. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-14055

Prenner, M. L., Prgomet, C., Sauerwein, H., Pfaffl, M. W., Broz, J., & Schwarz, F. J. (2007). Effects of lactoferrin feeding on growth, feed intake and health of calves. Archives of Animal Nutrition, 61(1), 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450390600973675

Righi, F., Simoni, M., Foskolos, A., Beretti, V., Sabbioni, A., & Quarantelli, A. (2017). In vitro ruminal dry matter and neutral detergent fibre digestibility of common feedstuffs as affected by the addition of essential oils and their active compounds. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences, 26(3), 204–212. https://doi.org/10.22358/jafs/76754/2017

Righi, F., Simoni, M., Malacarne, M., Summer, A., Costantini, E., & Quarantelli, A. (2016). Feeding a free choice energetic mineral-vitamin supplement to dry and transition cows: Effects on health and early lactation performance. Large Animal Review, 22(4), 161–170.

Robblee, E. D., Erickson, P. S., Whitehouse, N. L., McLaughlin, A. M., Schwab, C. G., Rejman, J. J., & Rompala, R. E. (2003). Supplemental lactoferrin improves health and growth of holstein calves during the preweaning phase. Journal of Dairy Science, 86(4), 1458–1464.
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73729-1

Shah, A. M., Shah, A. R., Hassan, M. F., Yousif, M., & Wang, Z. (2019). Colostrum composition and its importance to the health ofanimals - A review. Punjab University Journal of Zoology, 34(2), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pujz/2019.34.2.197.206

Simoni, M., Temmar, R., Bignamini, D. A., Foskolos, A., Sabbioni, A., Ablondi, M., Quarantelli, A., & Righi, F.(2020). Effects of the combination between selected phytochemicals and the carriers silica and Tween 80 ondry matter and neutral detergent fibre digestibility of common feeds. Italian Journal of Animal Science, 19(1), 723-738.https://doi.org/10.1080/1828051X.2020.1787882

Superti, F., Ammendolia, M. G., Valenti, P., & Seganti, L. (1997). Antirotaviral activity of milk proteins:Lactoferrin prevents rotavirus infection in the enterocyte like cell line HT-29. Medical Microbiology and Immunology, 186(2–3), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004300050049

Svensson, C., Lundborg, K., Emanuelson, U., & Olsson, S. O. (2003). Morbidity in Swedish dairy calves from birth to 90 days of age and individual calf-level risk factors for infectious diseases. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 58(3–4), 179–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-5877(03)00046-1

Taha, N., El barbary, H., Ibrahim, E., Mohammed, H., & Wahba, N. (2019). Application of lactoferrin as a trial to control E.Coli O1and O26 in pasteurized milk. Benha Veterinary Medical Journal, 36(2), 360–366. https://doi.org/10.21608/bvmj.2019.15172.1054

Teraguchi, S., Shin, K., Fukuwatari, Y., & Shimamura, S. (1996). Glycans of bovine lactoferrin function as receptors for the type 1 fimbrial lectin of Escherichia coli. Infection and Immunity, 64(3), 1075–1077. https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.64.3.1075-1077.1996

Van Soest, P. J., Robertson, J. B., & Lewis, B. A. (1991). Methods for Dietary Fiber, Neutral Detergent Fiber, and Nonstarch Polysaccharides in Relation to Animal Nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science, 74(10), 3583–3597. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(91)78551-2