CA1067334A - Methionine hydroxy analog-containing feed for lactating cows - Google Patents

Abstract

METHIONINE HYDROXY ANALOG-CONTAINING FEED
FOR LACTATING COWS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A premix or concentrate is described containing essential nutrients, methionine hydroxy analog, minerals, vitamins, proteins, Aspergillus oryzae and a buffer. It provides improved milk production when fed to lactating cows on a regular basis.

Description

-` 10~7334 . ~ ~
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to improvements in ~nimal feeds. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in the utilization of feed by dairy cows. -~

2. Description of the Prior Art: - ;
It is well known that the amino acids in orally fed proteins are largely degraded to ammonia by rumen microorganisms. - -The ammonia so evolved is then reconstituted into the specific amino acids needed to synthesize and multiply pro~ein, mostly in the form of bacteria. Thus, the proportion of the various amino acids in feed proteins and that in the ruminally synthesized protein is often distinctly different. In some cases the bio-- i -logical value of the synthesized protein is superior to that of the feed proteinS on the other hand, the reverse is often true.
. .
In effect, the type of synthesis that occurs in the ordinary :

rumen function tends to convert all feed pr~teins to a common .:
~ould. Although the supply of methionine in this common mould ~ `

may be adequate for the gestating or fattening animal, it is 20~ ~deflcient for the maximum performance of fast-growing young ;~ animals, high-woollproducing sheep or high-milk producing dairy ~: ~ cows.

In the case of the dairy cow, methionine plays an - ~. . : . .
important role in lipid metabolism in addition to its contribu-tion to milk protein formation. At the tim~ of freshening, the high-producing cow cannot supply from feed alone all the nutrients needed for maximum milk production, and must draw heavily on body stores, especially body fat deposits. Methionine is the major chain initiator in lipo-protein synthesls, the mechanism by which 30 body fats are mobilized and transported to the mammary gland. ~:
~ ~ .

. . ~ .

.:' :' ' ,, ' '~

~0673~ .
Thus, at the peak oE production tl~e cow has multiple n~eds for a single nutrient that is produced by the rumen in limited quantities. Increasing the oral supply of methionine, subject to attack in the rumen, has no effect on the amount available to the cow itself. However, the use of methionine analog instead of the preformed amino acid has been found to result in greater methionine availability as indicated by elevated methionine blood levels in analog-fed cows.
There are many published articles in technical journals on the effects of methionine hydroxy analog such as the article of L. C. Griel, Jr. et al. ~ilk Production Response to Feeding Methionine Hydroxy Analog to Lactating Dairy Cows", Journal of DairY Science, Vol. 51, No. 11, pages 1866-1868.
However, in terms of weekly production of 4~ fat-corrected milk, only about a 5% increase in milk production was obtained with a feeding of 40 g analog per day and an increase of about 9% with a feeding of 80 g analog per day. In other words, the yield increases were fairly limited when compared with the increased feeding costs associated with these ~uantities of the methionine Z0 hydroxy analog.
Other studies such as Bishop,'~ethionine Hydroxy Analogue Supplementation in Beef and Dairy Catt~", Feedstuffs, Vol. 43, No. 5, p. 31, again show only limited yield improvements by the feeding of the methionine hydroxy analog with, for l; ~ instance, a yield increase of less than 11% with the best candi-,~ dates, i.e. first-calf heifers during early lactation. In older , - :
cows after several lactations the response to the analog ~ generally decreased.

Q, ~, It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide an aminal Eeed containing methionine hydroxy analog . - :
: -:
~ ~ - 2 - -. ~ , : !

~ ~0673~4 which will provi(le improvc~ milk yielcl as compared to the pre-viously known methionine hydroxy analog feed additives.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, it has been ~
discovered that by combining proper adJuncts with the methionine - -hydroxy analog as a dry premix, the effectiveness of the anal~og when fed to dairy cows is greatly increased.
Thus, according to one feature of the present invention, there is provided a premix containing essential nutrients, meth-ionine hydroxy analog, a fermentation en~yme extract and a buffer.The fermentation enzyme extract is a fungal enzym~, preferably of the genus Aspergillus, more particularly Aspergillus oryzae. -The premix can be in the form of a top dressing for a regular dairy feed or it may be part of the dairy feed. Typical of-the essential nutrients are major and trace minerals, salt, vitamins and protein sources.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to a preferred feature of the invention a premix~or concentrate is prepared containing ~he following ; `20 ingredients:
Component ~ By Weight Dicalcium phosphate 15-30 . .
Potassium and/or magnesiùm sulfate 2-8 Salt 2-8 Sodium bicarbonate (buffer) 2-6 Minerals 0.4-0.8 Vitamins 0.01-0.1 Methionine hydroxy analog 5-20 Aspergillus o_y~ 0.5-2 ... .
: :~
~ - 30 Soybean Meal 3-10 , ~ :
Corn Gluten Meal 25-45 Linseed Meal 2-8 Molasses 2-8 ; ~ 3 ~
~"
). ~-,' ;: :; ~ . , , , . , , ; , ... , . : . ., , ., : .

~.~6733~ ~:

The above premix is fed to cows in quantities to provide about 20 - 40 g., preferably 20 - 30g./day of methionine hydroxy analog to each animal. For instance, it may be fed as a top dres-sing on a dairy feed in an amount of about 8 oz. once per day.
Alternatively, it can be mixed into a dairy feed in an amount of about 5% by weight. A typical dairy feed is one composed of a mixture of ground grains in the form of a mash, e.g. a mixture of ground corn, oats, wheat, soybeans, etc.
Aspergillus oryzae is a well known en~yme extract for inclusion in animal feeds and is generally known to act in a manner similar to natural enzymes produced by the animal body. Thus, it hydrolyzes complex hydrocarbates and proteins of plant material ingested by the animal and thereby makes lt more easily digestable.
Although it is not entirely understood why the presence of the fungal enzyme is so effective in increasing the utilization of the methionine hydroxy analog, it is belived that it helps in main-taining proper intrarumlnal and intra-abomasal enzyme concentra-tions so that maximum utilization of the analog can be achieved.
While the buffer has been specifically referred to above - .
as sodium bicarbonate, other buffers are equally effective. For example, potassium or calcium bicarbonate may also be used, or any : .
of the above bicarbonates may be mixed with magnesium oxide.
According to another feature of the preqent invention, it ha~ been found that the present premix is more palatable to : ~ .:
da~ry cows than were previous methionine hydroxy analog composi-~ tions. This has been achieved by a special technique which has ; succeeded in camouflaging the taste of the analog. This was done by mixing the analog in particulate form with a dry pawder fla-vouring material such as synthetic molasses flavouring. It appears that the fine powder of synthetic flavouring agent forms an _ 4 -., . . .: ' '! . .
: .

;, , . , , ~.,, . - ,. ' : . , ' ' .
. - . , . - , . . ., ,, ... , , .. , , .. ~ , ", .. ..

1~6~33~

adherent coating around the analog particles so that the ~ -animals are no longer able to detect the analog particles while ~ :
eating the feed. .
.
In order that the invention can be better understood, the following illustrative Examples are given. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other compositions according to this invention can be prepared and applied in accordance with the Examples.

A premix was prepared containing the ingredients and having the analysis as set out in Table 1 below:

" ':' .:
.. . . ..
. . - ., ;:

: 20 .
, " . . ':

I ~ , : .

~ 5 ;
' ' , .
:1 .
~, ' ' .
i ~67339~ :

O O O O O O O 1~ U~ 00 ~ O O U~ O O 1 o . U~ o o ,~ ~ o C~ o o o o o o U~
...............
u~ o ,~ ~ I~ o ,~ u~ o o o o o o o o r~

U~
H
U~
~1 ~d ¢
~ d `-- X
¢ .,.~
:~ H H 1_1 JJ
~1O 1-1 .Q o ~3 ~ o ¢ ~ Isl ¢ ~ ~ 1 ,1 o t,O ~ ~1 o s:~ ~ ~.C) ~ :~ JJ ~ J~ ' ' " ' td rC 1~ 0 ~ o o o ~1 ~
~ p ~ ~ H ~ p ~ p-~1 . ~ ~
, : '.',: . ' 1~ ~ U^~ ~O ~
O O O ~O ~`l I` OO O O O O O 'Sl ' ' :' O O O O ~ 1 0 0 o o o oo o o o o o r. ''.
' ¢ a~ . ....... . , .. . ., l o~ ~ O O O O O O O O ~1 ~ n ~ o ' . . ' .:
E~ c~
: . ~ :

:~ ~ k : : El i3 ^ ^ O rd V ~rl U ~1 0 0 Z ~ d V ^ ~ O ._ O ,~
.c 0 ~ t~ al o E~ ~ ~ H O :~ N `;t -/ ~ Q) . -~n V :1 o~ Cl t~ d O--O :~ O ~ tJ ~
1 O O V~rJ V d ~r~ o o ,~ ~ H o :~, ~1 o ~ ~ ~ rd v $ ~ P~ ~ x ~a o ~ H ~ u~ O
~: ~ : ~ E; ~ ~ ~ O ~i ~1 ~1 d ~ ~1 ~1 :~ JJ ~ O

¢ ~ q O d o ~ d ~: d ~ 1 d ~I rCI ~rl ~: ~ : u c~ d ~ O d ~ Y ~ rl o oo oo P~
X ~ rl u oo ~ ~ ,D d u~ :~ u .
` :: o~ O O ' ~ ~:) d a ~ ~ ~ ~ u u u u ~ ~ ~ d v~ ~1 O ~ O ~ d O o JJ ~ tO O O ~r~ ~rl ~1 , . ...
` ~ ~ ~ ~ n N X ~
~: ' ;. :
,~;~ ' ' ' ' ' : : . . .

~, .
.
:
, . . ` : .' ;''` .

~L06~334 A feeding experiment of the duration of 2 months was conducted on Holstein cows to demonstrate the effect of the premix on milk production and butterfat percentages. The animals were maintained on a normal feeding programme consisting of silage, hay and 16% dairy feed. This dairy feed consisted of a mix of 975 lbs. ground corn, 400 lbs. ground oats, 225 lbs.
wheat bran and 300 lbs. soybean meal.
On the date of recording milk production and butterfat percentages of individual cows before feeding the premix, there - -were 55 cows in the herd, out of which 25.5% were in late lacta-tion, 60% had passed peak lactation and 14.5% were in early lactation. On the date of recording one month after feeding the premix, out of 60 cows in the herd, 15% were in late lactation, 55% at passed peak lactation and 30% were in early lactation.
On the date of recording two months after feeding the premix, out of 62 cows in the herd, 17.7% were in late lactation, 58%
were at passed psak lactation and 24.3% wers in sarly lactation.
Aftsr rscording the initial lsvsls, all of the cows in the herd wers administered eight ounces per day of the premix of lable 1 as a top feed for a period of two months. The data on milk production and butterfat percentage of individual cows was recorded at the end of the first month and also at end of the second month after feeding the premix. -The results obtained are set out in Table 2 below. ;

~ ~: ' ' ' I~ 30 ~ . ' .
' ~ ' :

Treatment Avg. Dail~ Milk Prod.~lbs) Avg. B.F. (%) Control 23.96 4.35 -8 oz. Premix -One Month 31.63 3.96 8 oz. Premix -Two Months 31.79 3.61 Thus, it will be seen that compared to the control, -. .. .
the milk production increased by 3~% at the end of the first ~-month and by 32.7% at the end of the second month after admin-lstration of the premix. On an absolute basis, the average daily amount of butterfat produced before feeding the premix was 1.04 lb., while the average daily amount produced at the end of the first and second months after feeding premix were ~
1.25 lb. and 1.15 lb. respectively. The admlnistration of the ~ -premix caused an increase in butterfat production by 20% at the end of the first month and by 10.6% at the end of the second month.
- .
For a better compArison between the control and premix 20 data, the data obtained from the cows was classified according ~o their stage of lactatlon. In order to eliminate the influence of normal physiological peak in early lactation, the milk pro-duction levels and butterfat percentages of animals tbat had ~- passed peak lactation were taken into consideration for the interpretation of the results. Thus, it was observed from the study that the animals which had passed peak lactation as well ;;
~ ~ as those in late lactatlon responded favourably to the administra-;~ tion of the premlx. Considerlng the above groups of animals as a single group, the lnltial average dally milk production before i~ 30 feeding the premi~ was 21.5 lbs. whlle the average milk production .~, 7 at the end of the flrst and second month after feeding the premix - 8 - ~

, :~:. ' ', -; :: .;
'.~ :

~ . -. : . .. . , .. .. . : : . .

~V6733~

were 29.0 lbs. and 30.6 lbs. respectively. The average butterfat percentages for the corresponding periods were 4.6%, 3.99% and 3.65% respectively. Thus, the administration of the premix resulted in an increase of milk production by ~ -34.9% and 42.3% at the end of the first and second month respectively as compared to the control without the feeding of the premix. -A premix was prepared containing the ingredients and having the analysis as set out in Table 3 below:

: . .~ . -`~'''''' ,"

i :
~ 30 . -, : . ;

.' ~ ' .
!
~ .

.: . . . .. . . . . . . .

- ~67339L

- .
.. . .

U~
~ n ~ ~ o o o o o o o o o ~ U~ oo ~ o o U~ o o o r~ ~ o o r~ ~ o ~ ~ o o o o o u~ u~
........ ,......... ~
V O ~1 ul In o ~1 u~ O O O O O O O r~ r~ 1~ ..

U~ . ' ~ . . .
H
U~
~ X ,,Q,.C~
~ ~1 ~ ~ ~1 ~1 :
¢ ~ ~ ' Z ~ ~_ X
¢ .,~
~n ~ H H H
o ~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ ¢ a rn æ ~ ~ rn u~ ~ ~ v ¢ ~ rrJ ~ ~1 a ~ e ~ ~ r~ rn ~ u ~ o ¢ ~ O ~ ~ O

3 )~ o ~ o o o ~ ~
r~ rJ r=~ rJ c.~ E ~, ~ ~ ~ S C.~ rJ H F~ P P P
' . ~., ' .
U~ U~ . : ', -' .
n `D ......
~ ~ ~D r~ ,1 ~ ~1 .. ..
t~ ~ ~ O ~ O O ~ O ~ O O O O O O `D , .. ..
u~ o o o ~ ~1 ~ ,~ o o o o o o o O O O O O ~ .... ...
¢ ~ . ........ . . ., . ... , o u~ ooooo o o oo ~ ~ n~ o E~ c~l ,1 ~ O

o ~:
0: oo ~D ~d ,1 E~ ~ ~ r~ O O ~ ~
Z ~d m :: ~ ~ ~ O ~ O E~ X ~ ~ ~ O
r~ ~ rn v~ ~d Q) o ~ o H O ~ N~ 1--l t`~ (11 1~11-1 3 rd r~ r~ r~ ^ ~o o ~ ~ ,}~ rd ~ rn ~n ~ :
rn JJ F3 ~ aJ IJ rd d ~ O :~ O ~ ~ r~ rn O O ~ ~ ~,1 IJ rd d ~rJ ~ o ~ ~J H O ~ ~1 o ~ E rn Id X rd W O E~ ~1 11'1 H`~ q r~ ~ rn ~
In ~d o W ~ ~ rd ~,1 '~ '~ ~ rn ~ rd ~ r,d rd o aJ rJ rJ ~ ~ ~ rr~ rJ ~ rJ ~ rJ a~ ~1 X
F; ~ ~ ~ rn ~ rn ~d ~ o ¢ a W ~ w ,I w ~ ~ X O
~ rd 0~ rl :J r~ C~ rD ~ ,1 o ,~ rd :~ X ~S
¢ ~ rd X o 0 a o ~ ~ d d ~rl E3 d r~ rl ~-1 O C3 ~ E! O d ~ :~ u G~ rl ~rl O G0 00 :~ rd ro rJ ~ W
3 ,~ ~ rd r~J O ,1 ,~ ~ e ~ ~ ~,, O s~ IJ ~,, O
X rd ~ ~ u ~rl rJ ~ rd P, ~ rd rd rd ~ ,~ rV ~ 0 :) cJ
~ a rJ ~ ~ d r~ ~ .C ~ ~ 1 u u rd P
O ,1 rJ rd O ,I rd o r~ O J- ~J r~ ,r rJ a 0 o o ~ r~
- r~ F~r r4 r~ rn ~ X t~ ~ r~ ~ ~ p p P X ¢ e~ rf~
: :- : . ': ' : ~:
.. . .
,: :,. . .
i, ~ : .

'~:
~: . . ,:
' ~, ::

... .
';' ` A

': ~,oG733~ ' :''' ' ''' A feeding experiment W~9 conducted over a period of -three weeks on Holstein cows. The animals were maintained on a normal feeding programme consisting of an intake of 40 to ~2 lbs. succulent forages, 4 lbs. dry roughage and 13 lbs. concen-trates per cow per day. The concentrate was the same as that described in Example 1.
As a control, the initial levels of milk production -and butterfat percentages were recorded for individual cows before the feeding of the premix. At the time of recording initial levels there were 123 cows in the herd, out of which only 78 ~
cows (63.4~,) had data on their milk production and butterfat - ;
percentages. Among these 53.8% were passed peak lactation, 12.8% ~-were under early lactation, 26.9% were bred and 6.4% were first calf heifers at first lactation.
These cows were then fed their normal feeding programme to which was added 8 ounces of the premix as a top feed for a period of three weeks. The data on milk production and butter-fat percentage of individual cows was recorded at the end of the three weeks oE feeding the premix. At this time there were 129 cows in the herd out of which only 95 cows (73.6%) had data on their milk production and butterfat percentage. Among these 66.3%
were passed peak lactation, 13.7% had calved and were under early lactatlon, 10.5% were bred and 9.5% were first calf heifers under first lactation. For a better comparison between the control and ,j ~.
~ final observations, the animals were classified according to their j: : : : :
stage of lactation and physiological condition, e.g. pregnancy.
The average daily milk production of cows passed peak lactation prior to feeding the premix and after feeding for three .,, ~ .
~ weeks were 38.7 lbs. and 39.4 lbs. respectively while the average ~
.. , ~ . . . . . .
daily butterfat percentage for the corresponding periods were 3.31~%

and 3.762% respectively. Thus, the feeding of the premix resulted . :
:,. : -, 11 :

.

i,, ' 1 , , , ~, . .. ...

` . ~

6~334 in a 1.81% increase in milk production and a 13.44% increase in butterfat percentage.
The average daily milk production of cows in early lactation for the control and final periods were 52.0 lbs. and 59.6 lbs. respectively while the average daily butterfat per- ~
centages were 3.3% and 3.634% respectively. This means a 14.6% -increase in milk production and a 10.1% increase in butterfat percentage.
The average daily milk production of bred cows for the control and final periods were 44.7 lbs. and 46.5 lbs.
respectively, while the average daily butterF~t percentage for the corresponding periods were 3.1~ and 3.36% respectively~
Thus, the feeding of the premix resulted in a 4.03% increase in milk production and an 8.4~ increase in butterfat percentage.
The above results clearly show that the premix of the present invention caused a significant increase in milk prodaction and butterfat percentage of cows in early lactation.
It should also be noted that the control animals without the premix as a part of their feed reached their average peak produc-tion of 52 lbs. per day on an average of 25 days after calvingwhereas the animals beinB fed the premix attained an average -: :., peak productlon of 59.6 lbs. in an average of 21 days after ~
calving. In other words, the premix of the lnvention resulted in ~ ;
a higher peak production in a shorter period o time after calving.
I ~ The studies described in the literature on the effects f~ of feedlng methionine hydroxy analog as a part of a feed concen-trate presented their results on the basis of a balanced animal fee~d including such materials as corn, soybean meal, molasses, !,' ~ ~ 30 wheat, distillers grains, dicalcium phosphate, salt, trace minerals7 ~ ;
.,~ ~ . .. '' '.
..
- 12 ~
. .. .

- .'::~ :.~. ' .! ~ :

~067334 Vitamins A and D, etc. Thus, it i9 evident that it is not the presence of such materials in the premix of the present invention which so marke~ly enhances the effectiveness of the methionine ~-hydroxy analog. They represent nothing more than the usual essen-tial nutrients. The additional components not to be found in the concentrates described in the literature are the fungal enzyme and the buffer. As has been explained above, it i8 believed that -these serve to adjust the conditions within the complex digestive tract of the cow so that a maximum amount of the analog will escape ruminal degradation and be available for amination in the liver to form the amino acid methionine.

,, - ' .
-.
.
~ . .
: , . .
: ' .

~ : : :' .
.
~ ~ . ''." .. '~' ' " ' `~:`' :: ' ' ' ~ 13 -'~ , ,. .
i : , ": : : :- : .j " , . ,: , . .,, . .. : . .

Claims (9)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A feed additive for dairy cows comprising essential nutrients, methionine hydroxy analog, a fungal enzyme of the genus Aspergillus and a buffer.

2. A feed additive according to claim 1 wherein the essential nutrients include major and trace minerals, salt, vitamins and protein sources.

3. A feed additive according to claim 2 wherein the methionine hydroxy analog is present in an amount of about 5 -20% by weight.

4. A feed additive according to claim 3 wherein the enzyme is Aspergillus oryzae and is present in an amount of about 0.5 - 2% by weight.

5. A feed additive according to claim 4 wherein the buffer is present in an amount of about 2 - 6% by weight.

6. A feed additive for dairy cows comprising the following ingredients in the following percentages by weight:
Dicalcium phosphate 15-30 %
Potassium and magnesium sulfate 2-8 %
Salt 2-8 %
Sodium bicarbonate 2-6 %
Minerals 0.4-0.8%
Vitamins 0.01-0.1%
Methionine hydroxy analog 5-20 %
Aspergillus oryzae 0.5-2 %
Soybean meal 3-10 %
Corn Gluten Meal 25-45 %
Linseed meal 2-8 %
Molasses 2-8 %

7. A feed additive according to claim 1, 2 or 3 where the methionine hydroxy analog is in particulate form, with the particles thereof being coated with a powder of synthetic molasses flavour.

8. A feed additive according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the buffer is selected from sodium, potassium and calcium bicarbonate or mixtures thereof with magnesium oxide.

9. A feed additive according to claim 1, 2 or 3 blended with a dairy feed mash.