Table 1.
Animal performance data, milk production and components, plasma metabolites, plasma hormones and plasma conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content at wk 8 postpartum of cows abomasally supplemented either with: coconut oil [control, (CON); n = 5] or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; n = 5) from d 63 antepartum until slaughter on d 63 postpartum.
| Treatment 1 | p-Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | CON | CLA | |
| Performance | |||
| DMI, kg DM/d | 20.7 ± 1.6 | 17.6 ± 1.3 | 0.19 |
| Energy intake, MJ NEL/d | 148 ± 11 | 125 ± 10 | 0.17 |
| Energy balance, MJ NEL/d | −26.0 ± 9.2 | 6.5 ± 7.9 | 0.04 |
| Body weight, kg | 654 ± 31 | 611 ± 26 | 0.32 |
| Body condition score | 2.69 ± 0.19 | 2.94 ± 0.18 | 0.39 |
| Back fat thickness, mm | 8.66 ± 1.54 | 11.80 ± 1.42 | 0.21 |
| Milk production and components | |||
| Milk yield, kg/d | 42.9 ± 2.9 | 37.9 ± 2.5 | 0.23 |
| ECM, kg/d | 43.2 ± 3.2 | 26.2 ± 2.8 | 0.01 |
| Milk fat content, % | 4.53 ± 0.27 | 1.73 ± 0.23 | <0.001 |
| Milk fat yield, kg | 1.81 ± 0.17 | 0.64 ± 0.14 | <0.01 |
| Milk protein content, % | 3.07 ± 0.10 | 2.90 ± 0.08 | 0.24 |
| Milk protein yield, kg | 1.31 ± 0.07 | 1.10 ± 0.06 | 0.06 |
| Milk lactose content, % | 4.75 ± 0.07 | 4.81 ± 0.06 | 0.52 |
| Milk lactose yield, kg | 2.03 ± 0.16 | 1.83 ± 0.13 | 0.34 |
| Milk urea, mg/L | 140 ± 9 | 124 ± 8 | 0.21 |
| SCC × 1000/mL | 2 ± 220 | 287 ± 188 | 0.35 |
| Metabolites | |||
| NEFA, µmol/L | 384 ± 44 | 145 ± 37 | 0.01 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/L | 0.10 ± 0.01 | 0.08 ± 0.01 | 0.26 |
| Cholesterol, mmol/L | 5.46 ± 0.66 | 4.92 ± 0.56 | 0.55 |
| Glucose, mmol/L | 3.34 ± 0.23 | 3.32 ± 0.19 | 0.96 |
| BHB, mmol/L | 0.59 ± 0.13 | 0.69 ± 0.11 | 0.57 |
| Hormones | |||
| Insulin, µg/L | 0.23 ± 0.09 | 0.48 ± 0.07 | 0.07 |
| Glucagon, ng/L | 144 ± 12 | 109 ± 10 | 0.06 |
| GH, µg/L | 7.31 ± 1.82 | 3.79 ± 1.56 | 0.19 |
| IGF-1, µg/L | 54.6 ± 24.7 | 123.0 ± 21.1 | 0.08 |
| IGFBP-2, µg/mL | 6.62 ± 1.20 | 3.76 ± 1.10 | 0.15 |
| IGFBP-3, µg/mL | 2.33 ± 0.38 | 3.69 ± 0.35 | 0.06 |
| IGFBP-4, µg/mL | 1.35 ± 0.36 | 1.36 ± 0.33 | 0.99 |
| Cortisol, nmol/L | 21.7 ± 6.4 | 22.0 ± 5.4 | 0.97 |
| Leptin, ng/mL | 3.70 ± 2.71 | 9.64 ± 2.32 | 0.14 |
| Adiponectin, µg/mL | 22.3 ± 2.5 | 18.5 ± 2.1 | 0.28 |
| Plasma CLA content | |||
| C18:2 cis-9, trans-11 CLA, g/100 g fatty acids | 0.06 ± 0.03 | 0.56 ± 0.03 | <0.001 |
| C18:2 trans-10, cis-12 CLA, g/100 g fatty acids | 0.00 ± 0.02 | 0.19 ± 0.01 | <0.001 |
1 Values represented as least squares means with SE. DMI = Dry matter intake; ECM = energy corrected milk; SCC = somatic cell count; NEFA = nonesterified fatty acids; BHB = β-hydroxybutyrate; GH = growth hormone; IGF-1 = insulin-like growth factor-1; IGFBP-2, 3, 4 = insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2, 3, 4, respectively; statistical differences were analyzed using the MIXED procedure using repeated measures of SAS, p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.