308ANALELE UNIVERSITATII DIN ORADEA FASCICULA : ECOTOXICOLOGIE, ZOOTEHNIE SI TEHNOLOGII DE INDUSTRIE ALIMENTARA, VOL. VII, ANUL 7, 2008 RESEARCH… [601715]

308ANALELE UNIVERSITATII DIN ORADEA
FASCICULA : ECOTOXICOLOGIE, ZOOTEHNIE SI TEHNOLOGII DE INDUSTRIE ALIMENTARA, VOL. VII, ANUL 7, 2008

RESEARCH REGARDING THE EFFE CT OF THE METHIONINE
HYDROXY ANALOGUE USED IN THE FEEDING OF HIGH
PRODUCTIVITY COWS DURING THE EARLY LACTATION
PERIOD

D. Mierliță, Cristina Maerescu *

*University of Oradea, Faculty of Environmental Protection, 26 Gen. Magheru St., 410048 Oradea;
Romania, e-mail : [anonimizat]

Abstract
Supplementing the ration of dairy cows with methionine hydroxy analogue (0.3% in the
structure of mixed forage) improves the production of milk, the degree of food capitalization and
reduces the losses of body mass during the first weeks of lactation in cows with high productions of
milk. The methionine hydroxy analogue did not influence the daily production of milk and its content
of fat-free dry substance, but, on the other hand, it increased the production of fat, that is the milk’s
content of fat, which led to the increase with 7.91% in the production of milk corrected according to
the content of fat. In the presence of the methionine hydroxy analogue, the degree of capitalization of
the food improved and, especially, the consumption of concentrates for 1 liter of milk corrected
according to the content of fat decreased 4.10%.

Key words: cow, methionine hydroxy analogue

INTRODUCTION

The processes of ruminal fermentation result in large quantities of
amino acids, which, in the case of high productivity dairy cows especially
during early lactation, do not satisfy the specific nutritional requirements
(Halga P. 2000; 2002).
During the first 10 – 12 weeks of lactation, especially in cows with
high productions of milk, the usual met hod is to administer large quantities
of concentrates, in hopes of increasing to the maximum the consumption of
energy and reducing the bodily deposits of fat (McDonald P. et al. 2002). Under these conditions, the consumption of coarse fibers is low, which will
lead to an increase in the relative proportion of propionic acid and thus to
the decrease of the percentage of fat in the milk (Rulquin R 2006).
Polar et. al. have noticed an increase in the production of milk when
25 g of methionine hydroxy analogue were administered in the cows’ food, and the percentage of fat in the milk recorded a significant growth when the
daily ration was supplemented with 80 g/day of methionine hydroxyl
analogue (Graulet B. et al. 2005).
Bertics S.J et. al. (1999) have dem onstrated that methionine is the
first amino acid to constitute the limiting factor in cows of high productivity, and Can A (1998) have pointed out an increase of the milk

309production corrected according to the percentage of fat, following a daily
administering of 40 g of calcium DL-alpha-hydroxy-gamma-methyl-
mercapto butyrate to dairy cows during early lactation. Crawley D.D et al (2005) have noticed a significant growth of the total lipid synthesis, as a
result of the addition of L-methionine in the ruminal liquid incubated in
vitro, and Clark A.K. et al (1982) mentions an increase of cellulose
digestibility as well.
Other researches have shown that the methionine supplement stimulates the formation of polar lipids in the rumen and their absorption and, on the other hand, that it leads to the multiplication of protozoa (Pond W.G. et al. 1995).
The object of this report was to study the effect of supplementing
rations rich in concentrates with methionine hydroxy analogue on the productive performances of high productivity cows during the period of
early lactation.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Based on the production attained during the previous lactation, two
groups of Holstein cows in their 2 – 4 lactations were created, each group
consisting of 8 heads of cattle. The corrected milk production (4.0% fat) was
used, because there were some differences between the cows regarding the
content of fat in the milk.
The experiment began in the second week after calving and lasted until
the twelfth week after calving, this period being considered critical as to the satisfying of high productivity cows’ nutritional requirements (NRC, 2001).
The ration was made of (% of DM): 15% natural hay hashed in two
centimeter long pieces, 40% corn sila ge (28% DM) and 45% forage mixed
with 21.8% raw protein and 1630 Kcal ENL. In the case of the experimental
group, the methionine hydroxy analogue was introduced in the structure of the forage in a proportion of 0.30% (table 1).
The ration was administered in abundance to cows of the two groups,
in the form of mixtures of unique forages (total mixed rations).
The administered food, the remains of the forage and the production
of milk were recorded daily. Every two weeks, the content of fat in the milk,
the milk’s fat free dry substance and the cows’ weight were recorded.

310
Table 1
The structure and nutritional value of the administered food (TMR – total mixed rations)
The structure of TMR
(total mixed rations) (% of DM) The structure of the mixed forage
(% of weight)
Natural hay – 15%
Corn silage – 40% Mixed concentrates – 45% Corn – 38
Barley – 20 Sunflower meal – 14
Soybean meal – 25
Salt – 0.5 Vitamin – mineral premix – 2.5
Calculated nutritional characteristics / kg DM 1.00 UNL 16.2% Pb.
101.6 g PDIE
104.2 g PDIN 10.5 g Ca
5.4 g P Calculated nutritional characteristics / kg 0.889 kg
DM 1.12 UNL
21.8% Pb.
129.7 g PDIE 146.1 g PDIN
4.9 g Ca
7.0 g P

* In the experimental group, 0.3% HM was added in
the mixed forage (NC).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The average daily consumption of forage, the average productions of
milk and the degree of food capitalization are all shown in table 2. The use
of methionine hydroxy analogue in the food of dairy cows determined an
insignificant growth of SU consumption during the first 10 weeks of
lactation. The production of milk, as we ll as the milk’s content of fat-free
dry substance, were not affected. The methionine hydroxy analogue
increased the total production of fat and the percentage of fat in the milk,
while the proportion of nitrogen from the ration excreted in the milk was not affected by the treatment. Because the methionine hydroxy analogue increased the secretion of fat in the milk, probably by stimulating the development of protozoa in the rumen (McDonald P. et al. 2002), it is fair to
assume that the proteins in the body were mobilized to transport lipids. One
may emphasize the observation that the methionine hydroxy analogue, although it does not influence the production of milk and the content of
protein, manages to increase by 7.91% the production of milk corrected
according to the content of fat during the first ten weeks of lactation, by
improving the production of fat (figure 1).
Beside the improvement of the milk production corrected according to the content of fat, the methionine hydroxy analogue in the food also
determined a better employment of nutrients in the organism, which was
positively reflected in the cows’ body mass.

311
Table 2
The effect of methionine hydroxy analogue on the consumption of the ration and on the
main productive performances of cows
Week 6 Week 10 Average of weeks 6- 10 Specification
Control AHM¹ Control AHM Control AHM
Body weight (kg)
Average daily
consumption
– DM (kg) – hay (kg DM)
– silage (kg DM)
-concentrates (kg)
– UNL – PDIE (g)
– PDIN (g) 561

17,8 2,67
7,12
8,01
17,80
1808
1855 558

18,2 2,73
7,28
8,19
18,2
1849
1896 554

18,7 2,81
7,48
8,41
18,7
1900
1949 556

19,6 2,94
7,84
8,82
19,6
1991
2042 -7 kg

18,00
2,74
7,30
8,21
18,25
1854
1902 -2 kg

18,90
2,83
7,56
8,50
18,90
1920
1969
Milk production kg Corrected milk production
– (kg)
– %
Milk fat (%)
Fat-free DM in the milk (%)
Total production of fat –
(kg) – % 30,0

25,7
100,00
3,43

8,47

1,028
100,00 29,4

27,5
107,00
3,74

8,49

1,10
107,00 29,0

27,2
100,00
3,75

8,46

1,088
100,00 29,4

29,6
108,82
4,03

8,51

1,184
108,82 29,50

26,45
100,00
3,59

8,465

1,05
100,00 29,4

28,55
107,91
3,88

8,50

1,14
107,91
Specific consumption for 1 liter of milk
– concentrates (g/l)
– UNL/l – PDIE (g/l)
– PDIN (g/l)

311,7
0,69
70,35
72,18

297,8
0,66
67,23
68,94

309,2
0,69
69,85
71,65

298,0
0,66
67,26
68,98

310,4
0,69
70,1
71,9

297,7
0,66
67,2
68,9
¹ – AHM – methionine hydroxy analogue.

312
05101520253035
Kg milk Kg fat Kg corrected milk g concentrates/kg milkControl group AHM group

Fig. 1 The influence of the methionine hydroxyl analogue (AHM) on the production
performances of dairy cows

Thus, in the first ten weeks of lactation, the body mass decreased an
average of 7 kg/head of cow belonging to the control group and only 2
kg/head of those from the experimental group, which ensures better
conditions for resuming a new reproductive cycle.
As to the degree of food capitaliza tion in the production of milk, the
methionine hydroxy analogue determined an average decrease of 4.10% in
the consumption of concentrates per kg of milk. Similar aspects were registered concerning the consumption of energy and proteins for 1 kg of
milk corrected according to the content of fat.
The positive results recorded in the experimental group regarding the
production of milk as well as the degree of food capitalization impose the
performing of some studies about the way in which methionine hydroxy analogue works, with the purpose of correlating its effect on milk
production and of its composition with the bio-chemical processes within
the digestive tube, respectively the general metabolism of nitrogen and
energy in dairy cows.

313CONCLUSIONS

1. Supplementing the ration of dairy cows with methionine hydroxy
analogue (0.3% in the structure of mixed forage) improves the production of milk, the degree of food capitalization and reduces the losses of body mass
during the first weeks of lactation in cows with high productions of milk.
2. The methionine hydroxy analogue did not influence the daily
production of milk and its content of fat-free dry substance, but, on the other
hand, it increased the production of fat, that is the milk’s content of fat, which led to the increase with 7.91% in the production of milk corrected
according to the content of fat.
3. In the presence of the methionine hydroxy analogue, the degree of capitalization of the food improved and, especially, the consumption of
concentrates for 1 liter of milk corrected according to the content of fat
decreased 4.10%.

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