The Influence of Feeding with Colostrum and Colostrum Replacer on Major Blood Biomarkers and Growth Performance in Dairy Calves

Abstract

Bovine colostrum (BC) is the first milk produced by lactating cows after parturition. BC is rich in various amino acids, proteins, and fats essential for the nutrition of the neonate calves. Despite the evident beneficial effect of BC on calves, the effect of BC on blood biomarkers is poorly understood. Calves that received BC showed significantly higher body mass at days 7 and 30 (38.54 kg and 43.42 kg, respectively) compared to the colostrum replacer group (p = 0.0064). BC induced greater quantities of blood neutrophils (0.27 × 10⁹/L) and monocytes (4.76 × 10⁹/L) in comparison to the colostrum replacer (0.08 and 0.06 × 10⁹/L, respectively) (p = 0.0001). Animals that received BC showed higher levels of total serum protein (59.16 g/L) and albumin (29.96 g/L) in comparison to the colostrum replacer group (44.34 g/L and 31.58 g/L, respectively). In addition, BC induced greater intestinal mucus production in the Wistar rat model. Collectively, these results demonstrate that BC is important for the growth of calves and that it provides a significant beneficial effect on morphological and biochemical blood parameters.

Keywords: biomarkers; bovine colostrum; calf; immunomodulation; maternal milk; neutrophils.

Figure 1

The effects of timely administration of colostrum result in increased body weight in the calves. The experimental animals received colostrum (n = 5) or artificial colostrum replacement (n = 5) for the first 6 h after birth. Panel (A) demonstrates the changes in body mass during on day 1, 7 and 30. Panel (B) demonstrates the body mass changes from day 1 to day 30. The changes in body weight were recorded at days 1, 7 and 30. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals. *^, **^, ****—denotes significance between time points of the same group.

Figure 2

Feeding with colostrum has no significant effect on weight gain in Wistar rats (A,B). The 6-week-old Wistar rats received colostrum, an artificial colostrum replacer, milk and saline daily for 7 days. The weight changes were monitored. The figure shows mean ± SEM from six experimental animals.

Figure 3

The administration of colostrum induces changes in lymphoid blood cell populations in calves. The experimental animals (n = 5 in each group) received colostrum or commercial colostrum replacement for the first 6 h after birth. On days 1, 7 and 30, the venous blood was collected and analyzed. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals. ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001.

Figure 4

Administration of colostrum, no significant changes were observed in the calves’ blood monocyte, neutrophil and basophil populations. The experimental animals (n = 5 in each group) received colostrum or an artificial colostrum replacer for the first 6 h after birth. On days 1, 7 and 30, the venous blood was collected and analyzed. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

Figure 5

The changes in serum proteins and their composition in calves that received bovine colostrum or colostrum replacer. The early administration of colostrum results in a higher concentration of serum proteins in calves. The experimental animals (n = 5 in each group) received colostrum or an artificial colostrum replacer for the first 6 h after birth. On days 1, 7 and 30, the venous blood was collected and analyzed. The high-density lipoprotein concentration was quantified by measuring the cholesterol concentration. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals. Ψ – p < 0.05, ΨΨ – p < 0.01 indicates significance between experimental groups. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 indicates significant changes between time points of the same group.

Figure 6

The changes in serum urea and creatinine concentration in calves that received a colostrum or colostrum replacer diet for the first 6 hours postpartum. The experimental animals (n = 5 in each group) received colostrum or an artificial colostrum replacer for the first 6 h after birth. On days 1, 7 and 30, the venous blood was collected and analyzed. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals. Ψ – p < 0.05 indicates significance between experimental groups. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 indicates significant changes between time points of the same group.

Figure 7

The effect of administration of colostrum or colostrum replacer on major liver markers in calves. The experimental animals (n = 5 of each group) received colostrum or artificial colostrum replacement for the first 6 h after birth. On days 1, 7 and 30, the venous blood was collected and analyzed. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals. *—denotes significant changes between time points of the same group (p < 0.05). Ψ – p < 0.05 indicates significance between experimental groups.

Figure 8

The feeding with bovine colostrum induced histological changes and mucus production in the intestine of Wistar rats in a colostrum collection fraction-dependent manner. Animals received colostrum collected at 1–4 h postpartum (T 1–4 h) as well as saline (NS), colostrum replacer (CR), and milk (M) that served as control. The feeding-induced changes were characterized by using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and alcian blue (AB) staining. The size bar represents 100 µm.

Figure 9

The bovine colostrum feeding resulted in a higher production of mucus in the Wistar rat intestine. The animals received experimental feeding with normal saline (NS), commercial colostrum replacer (CR), milk (M) and the diet-induced changes were compared with colostrum-treated animals or untreated control (UC). The thickness of intestinal mucus was determined after Alcian staining and ImageJ quantification. The results are shown as mean ± SEM from five experimental animals.