Soybean oil and calcium salts of fatty acids as fat sources for Holstein dairy cows in transition period

Rodrigues Gandra, JeffersonFreitas Junior, Jose Esler deMaturana Filho, MiltonBarletta, Rafael VillelaVerdurico, Lenita CamargoRennó, Francisco Palma

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of using different lipid sources in diets for dairy cows during the transition period and early lactation on productive performance and physiological parameters in Holstein cows. The cows were fed with the following diets: 1) control; 2) Refined soybean oil; 3) Calcium salts of unsaturated fatty acids (Megalac-E). Diets were formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of cows during the pre-partum and postpartum period. The experimental diets affected the dry matter intake, body weight, body condition score, and energy balance in the postpartum period. The experimental diets did not affect the biochemical parameters in serum: glucose, total protein, albumin, urea, serum urea nitrogen, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acids, -hydroxybutyrate, aspartate aminotransferase, -glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, also not being observed differences between the contrasts analyzed. The lipid sources soybean oil and calcium salts not directly influence the plasmatic physiological parameters of dairy cows in the period transition.(AU)

1. dairy cows
2. lipids metabolism
3. metabolic profile
4. puerperium