Dietary vitamin C in pre-parturient dairy cows and their calves: blood metabolites, copper, zinc, iron, and vitamin C concentrations, and calves growth performance

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2022-02, Vol.54 (1), p.54-54, Article 54
• Main Authors: Seifzadeh, Sayyad, Seifdavati, Jamal, Abdi-Benemar, Hossein, Salem, Abdelfattah Z. M., Sharifi, Reza Seyed, Elghandour, Mona M. M. Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alanine; Alanine transaminase; Albumins; Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Antioxidants; Ascorbic Acid; Aspartate aminotransferase; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blood; Blood levels; Calves; Carbon monoxide; Cattle; Cholesterol; Conversion ratio; Copper; Dairy cattle; Diet; Diet - veterinary; Dietary Supplements; Feed conversion; Female; High density lipoprotein; Immune system; Iron; Life Sciences; Low density lipoprotein; Malondialdehyde; Metabolites; Parameters; Parturition; Regular Articles; Suckling behavior; Superoxide dismutase; Transaminases; Triglycerides; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Vitamin C; Weight; Zinc; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-022-03061-6

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary vitamin C supplementation on blood parameters of pre-parturient (PP) dairy cows and growth performance and immune system of their newborn calves. Forty PP cows (at approximately 21 days before calving and an average weight 791 ± 50 kg) were allocated into two experimental treatments: (1) basal diet without vitamin C supplementation (CO) and (2) basal diet with 20 g of vitamin C supplementation from 21 days before calving to parturition (VC). After parturition, the experiment continued by grouping the calves into four dietary treatments with 8 calves in each treatment. The experimental treatments were (1) control calves with no vitamin C supplementation and from cows that received no vitamin C supplement (CON), (2) calves supplemented with 600 mg of vitamin C per day and from cows that received no vitamin C supplement (CVC), (3) calves supplemented with no vitamin C and from cows that received 20 g of vitamin C per day (MVC), and (4) calves supplemented with 600 mg of vitamin C per day and from cows that received 20 g of vitamin C per day (CMVC). Serum concentrations of glucose, HDL and LDL, cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, and albumin of cows were not affected by vitamin C supplementation during pre-parturient period. However, cows that received VC diet had lower ( P