Dihydropyridine Enhances the Antioxidant Capacities of Lactating Dairy Cows under Heat Stress Condition
1
Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory for Protection and Application of Special Plant Germplasm in Wuling Area of China, College of Life Sciences, South-Central University for Nationalities, 182 Min Zu Da Dao, Wuhan 430074, China
2
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetic, Breeding, and Reproduction for Ministry of Education, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2020, 10(10), 1812; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101812
Received: 26 August 2020
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Revised: 13 September 2020
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Accepted: 21 September 2020
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Published: 5 October 2020
(This article belongs to the Collection Feeding Strategies to Improve Sustainability and Welfare in Animal Production)
Simple Summary
Additives contribute to improving the health of dairy cows, enhancing antioxidative capacities, and/or increasing milk production, etc. To alleviate the harmful effects of heat stress on dairy cows, a few feed additives studies have been conducted. Dihydropyridine has been used as a feed additive in dairy cow diets. However, the underlying mechanisms of its beneficial effects still remain unclear. In the present study, dairy cows were randomly divided into a control group and a dihydropyridine treatment group under heat stress in summer. The rumen and blood samples of dairy cows were collected to determine the changes in their antioxidative capacities. Meanwhile, the effects of dihydropyridine on ruminal microbial communities were also analyzed. Our data demonstrated that dihydropyridine enhanced the antioxidative capacities of dairy cows under heat stress conditions.
Heat stress (HS), a nonspecific response to environmental heat, can seriously affect dairy cow health. Feed additives may alleviate HS in dairy cows by improving rumen fermentation efficacy, stimulating feed consumption, enhancing vasodilation, and/or improving antioxidant capacity. The temperature–humidity index (THI) indicates that spring is a non-HS season, and summer is an HS season. HS results in the decrease in dairy cow antioxidant capacities. Our results indicated the decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and total antioxidation (T-AOC) levels and the increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) level during HS season. Meanwhile, antioxidant indexes (SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC) were positively correlated with milk yield (p < 0.01), whereas MDA exhibited a significant negative correlation with milk yield (p < 0.05). In addition, the effects of dihydropyridine (DHP) on antioxidant capacity and ruminal microbial communities in dairy cows under HS were investigated. During summer, dairy cows were randomly assigned into two groups under HS, including a standard diet (S-ND) group and standard diet with 3 g/day/cow DHP (S-D) group. DHP treatment significantly restored SOD and GSH-Px levels under HS. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis results indicated that the DHP altered ruminal bacterial community mainly composed Proteobacteria and Firmicutes in dairy cows under HS. Our results suggest that DHP can enhance the antioxidant abilities of dairy cows with favorable effects on ruminal microbial communities under HS, further alleviating HS on dairy cows.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Yu, M.-F.; Zhao, X.-M.; Cai, H.; Yi, J.-M.; Hua, G.-H. Dihydropyridine Enhances the Antioxidant Capacities of Lactating Dairy Cows under Heat Stress Condition. Animals 2020, 10, 1812. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101812
AMA Style
Yu M-F, Zhao X-M, Cai H, Yi J-M, Hua G-H. Dihydropyridine Enhances the Antioxidant Capacities of Lactating Dairy Cows under Heat Stress Condition. Animals. 2020; 10(10):1812. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101812
Chicago/Turabian StyleYu, Meng-Fei, Xin-Mao Zhao, Hang Cai, Jian-Ming Yi, and Guo-Hua Hua. 2020. "Dihydropyridine Enhances the Antioxidant Capacities of Lactating Dairy Cows under Heat Stress Condition" Animals 10, no. 10: 1812. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101812
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