Inflammation is common in dairy cows during the calving transition period. Absorption of gut-derived endotoxins induces inflammation, reducing energy available for milk production. Research in other species has shown that butyrate may reduce inflammation by improving gut barrier function, and reducing endotoxin absorption. We evaluated the effects of dietary butyrate supplementation on performance, plasma metabolites, and serum inflammation indicators in dairy cows during the calving transition period. Thirty-seven Holstein heifers (n = 17) and cows (n = 20) were blocked by parity and calving date, and randomly assigned to one of iso-energetic diets containing calcium butyrate (BUT; Proformix; Probiotech Inc., Saint Hyacinthe, QC; 1.42% of diet dry matter (DM)) or a control (CONT; 1.04% palm fat and 0.38% calcium carbonate of diet DM). The closeup diet contained 14.9% starch and 42.5% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and the fresh diet contained 23.9% starch and 32.0% NDF on a DM basis. Diets were fed d 28 ± 3 before the expected calving date to d 24 ± 3 after calving. Data were analyzed using the FIT model of JMP Pro 14.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Serum haptoglobin concentrations did not differ between BUT and CONT (P = 0.76). However, plasma free fatty acid concentration tended to be lower in BUT on d 7 (885 vs. 1048 μEq/L; P = 0.10), while plasma β-hydroxybutyric acid concentration was higher in BUT on d 4 (11.3 vs. 8.11 mg/dL; P < 0.01). Milk urea nitrogen concentration was also lower in BUT on d 21 (13.2 vs. 15.8 mg/dL; P < 0.05). Additionally, postpartum body weight change tended to be greater in BUT (-3.84 vs. -2.61 kg/d; P = 0.10). There were no treatment differences observed in milk yield (P = 0.73), 3.5% fat-corrected milk yield (P = 0.49), milk fat (P = 0.21), milk protein (P = 0.38), DMI (P = 0.33), or postpartum BCS change (P = 0.41). The current study does not support that inflammation is reduced by oral butyrate supplementation, however, butyrate may reduce body fat mobilization in transition cows.
Key words: butyrate, inflammation, free fatty acids.
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