Effects of supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid on reproduction of dairy cows

The objectives were to determine the effects of supplementing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae on reproduction of dairy cows. Holstein cows were assigned randomly to either a control (n = 373) or the same diet supplemented daily with 100 g/cow of an algae product containing 10% DHA (algae, n = ...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Reproduction (Cambridge, England) Vol. 153; no. 5; pp. 707 - 723
Main Authors:	Sinedino, Letícia D P, Honda, Paula M, Souza, Letícia R L, Lock, Adam L, Boland, Maurice P, Staples, Charles R, Thatcher, William W, Santos, José E P
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Bioscientifica Ltd 01-05-2017
Subjects:	Animal Feed Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena Animals Cattle Dietary Supplements Docosahexaenoic Acids - administration & dosage Docosahexaenoic Acids - pharmacology Fatty Acids - metabolism Female Milk - chemistry Pregnancy Reproduction - drug effects
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	The objectives were to determine the effects of supplementing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich algae on reproduction of dairy cows. Holstein cows were assigned randomly to either a control (n = 373) or the same diet supplemented daily with 100 g/cow of an algae product containing 10% DHA (algae, n = 366) from 27 to 147 days postpartum. Measurements included yields of milk and milk components, fatty acids (FA) profiles in milk fat and plasma phospholipids, resumption of ovulation by 57 days postpartum, pregnancy per artificial insemination (AI) and expression of interferon-stimulated genes in leukocytes. Feeding algae increased resumption of estrous cyclicity (77.6 vs 65.9%) and pregnancy at first AI (47.6 vs 32.8%) in primiparous cows. Algae increased pregnancy per AI in all AI in both primiparous and multiparous cows (41.6 vs 30.7%), which reduced days to pregnancy by 22 days (102 vs 124 days) compared with control cows. Pregnant cows fed algae had greater expression of RTP4 in blood leukocytes compared with those in pregnant control cows. Feeding algae increased the incorporation of DHA, eicosapentaenoic acid, conjugated linoleic acid isomers cis-9 trans-11, trans-10 cis-12 and total n-3 FA in phospholipids in plasma and milk fat. Yields of milk and true protein increased by 1.1 kg/day and 30 g/day respectively, whereas fat yield decreased 40 g/day in algae compared with that in control. Supplementing DHA-rich algae altered the FA composition of lipid fractions and improved reproduction in dairy cows. The benefits on reproduction might be mediated by enhanced embryo development based on changes in interferon-stimulated gene expression.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1470-1626 1741-7899
DOI:	10.1530/REP-16-0642