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The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation of vitamin B complex on post-weaning performance of beef calves. The study was conducted during fall of 2023 at Eastern Oregon Agriculture Research Center (EOARC; Burns, OR). At weaning (d 0), 63 calves [Angus × Hereford; body weight (BW) = 252 ± 3.6 kg] were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) Control, 2) VitB1, or 3) VitB2. Calves assigned to Control treatment served as a negative control and were not supplemented with vitamin B complex. Calves assigned to treatment VitB1 were supplemented at 1g/calf daily, while calves assigned to VitB2 treatment were supplemented at 2g/calf daily of vitamin B complex during the 42 d of preconditioning. Upon weaning processing, calves were allocated to 21 pens (3 calves/pen) and treatments were allocated to each pen (7 pens/treatment). Vitamin B complex [Vivalto, pantothenic acid (B5 ; 40,000 mg/kg), pyridoxine (B6; 20,000 mg/kg), folic acid (B9; 3,200 mg/kg), biotin (B7 ; 3,200,000 mcg/kg), cobalamin (B12; 320,000 mcg/kg); Selko USA, Indianapolis, IN] supplementation was offered at pen level beginning on d 1 and until the end of the preconditioning phase (d 42). Vitamin B complex was offered to calves assigned to vitamin B complex treatment mixed with 1.3 kg of dried distiller’s grains. Additionally, calves had free access to chopped alfalfa-grass hay mix and whole corn. Pen intake was recorded daily. On d 0, BW and blood samples were collected from all calves. Additional blood and BW were collected on d 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 42 post-weaning. Body weights were used to calculate calf average daily gain (ADG) and blood samples were assayed for acute phase proteins (ceruloplasmin and haptoglobin). Additional blood samples will be analyzed for cortisol and vitamin B concentrations. Variables were analyzed considering pen as the experimental unit and pen(treatment) as a random effect. Blood variables were evaluated as repeated measures and effects of treatment, day, and treatment the interactions were analyzed with the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. No treatment effects (P = 0.98) were observed for final BW (283, 283, and 284 kg respectively for Control, Vit1, and Vit2) or for ADG (P = 0.53; 0.735, 0.795, and 0.747 kg/d respectively for Control, Vit1, and Vit2). Similarly, no treatment effects were observed for the acute phase proteins analyzed, ceruloplasmin (P = 0.66; 27, 30, and 33 µg/ dL respectively for Control, Vit1, and Vit2) and haptoglobin (P = 0.41; 0.55, 0.62, and 0.59 mg/mL, respectively for Control, Vit1, and Vit2). Supplementation of vitamin B complex to beef calves post-weaning does not seem to affect calf performance, regardless of the level of supplementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous research suggests that supplementation of monoglycerides may reduce diarrhea severity and intestinal and systemic inflammation in weaned pigs infected with Escherichia coli (E. coli) F18. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of monoglycerides on serum metabolomic profiles of weaned pigs experimentally infected with E. coli F18. Sixty weaned pigs [body weight (BW) = 6.49 ± 0.74 kg; around 21 d old] were individually housed and fed with one of four diets (15 replicates/diet): 1) control diet (CON); 2) CON+0.3% monoglycerides; 3) CON+3,000 mg/kg ZnO and 4) CON+50 mg/kg antibiotics (carbadox). The experiment lasted 28 days with 7 days before and 21 days after the first inoculation [d 0 post-inoculation (PI)]. All piglets were orally challenged with F18 E. coli (1010 CFU/3 mL) for 3 consecutive days. Serum samples were collected on d 5 and 14 PI to analyze untargeted metabolomics by gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometer (GC-TOF-MS). The metabolomics data were analyzed using different modules of a web-based platform, MetaboAnalyst 5.0. Statistical significance was declared at a false discovery rate q < 0.2 and fold change > 2.0. Pathway and metabolite set enrichment analysis were performed on identified metabolites that had a Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) score > 1. On d 5 PI, supplementation of high dose ZnO up-regulated (q < 0.2) pantothenic acid and fructose, compared with control. Supplementation of monoglycerides altered (q < 0.2) the relative abundances of 14 metabolites (7 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated) compared with high dose ZnO, and upregulated (q < 0.2) lactose and cellobiose compared with antibiotics. On d 14 PI, supplementation of high dose ZnO changed (q < 0.2) abundances of 10 metabolites (7 up-regulated and 3 down-regulated) compared with control. Supplementation of monoglycerides up-regulated (q < 0.2) hippuric acid and indole-3-propionic acid, and down-regulated (q < 0.2) 8 metabolites (including glutaric acid, serotonin, mannose, etc.) compared with the high dose ZnO. Citrate cycle, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, and beta-alanine metabolism were the most (VIP > 1) affected pathways when monoglycerides were compared with high dose ZnO on d 5 PI. TCA cycle, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism were the most (VIP > 1) affected metabolic pathways when monoglycerides were compared with high dose ZnO on d 14 PI. Limited differential metabolites were identified when comparing control vs. monoglycerides on d 5 and 14 PI. In conclusion, consistent with performance, diarrhea, and systemic inflammation data, serum metabolomics results indicate that high dose of ZnO supplementation had stronger impacts on the host metabolism of E. coli infected pigs, compared with monoglycerides and antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to determine the influence that a rumen-protected B-vitamin (RPBV) blend (containing pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, and cyanocobalamin; Vivalto, Trouw Nutrition, Isola Vicentina, Italy) had on growth performance, efficiency of dietary net energy utilization, carcass trait responses, and liver abscess severity and prevalence in beef steers fed a finishing diet. Steers (n = 246; initial shrunk body weight (BW) = 411 ± 25.8 kg) from two sources, were used in a 126-d randomized complete block design experiment. Within 48 h after arrival, steers were individually weighed and allotted to one of 24 pens (n = 10 to 12 steers; 8 pens/treatment) and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) No RPBV; 2) RPBV1 at 1 g/hd/d; 3) RPBV2 at 2 g·animal-1·d-1/. During the first 14 d cattle received two transition diets. From d 15 to d 126 cattle were fed the final diet containing 53% dry-rolled corn; 23% corn silage; 20% MDGS; and 4% suspended supplement. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS 9.4 with treatment as the fixed effect and block (Pen location) as the random effect; pen was considered the experimental unit. No differences (P ≥ 0.13) were found for dry matter intake, final live BW, average daily gain (ADG), or feed efficiency (G:F) among treatments. Carcass-adjusted final BW, ADG, and G:F were not influenced by treatment (P ≥ 0.59). Hot carcass weight, dressing percentage, marbling score, kidney-pelvicheart fat, or BW at 28% empty body fat did not differ among treatments (P ≥ 0.11). Rib eye area (REA) was altered (quadratic effect, P = 0.02) by treatment; steers from RPBV 1g had decreased REA compared with others. Additionally, calculated yield grade (YG) and calculated retail yield (RY) were altered (quadratic effect, P = 0.01) by treatment; steers from RPBV 1 g had increased YG and decreased RY compared with others. Estimated empty body fatness tended (P = 0.06) to be greater from steers fed RPBV compared with control. Overall USDA YG distribution was altered by dietary treatment (P = 0.01). The proportions of YG1 and YG5 carcasses were unaffected by treatment, but there was a shift in the proportion of carcasses that graded YG2, YG3, and YG4 among treatments. Distribution of USDA Quality Grade was not altered by treatment (P = 0.53). No differences were observed on liver abscesses among treatments. The use of RPBV altered carcass muscularity and rib fat accumulation which impacted the overall YG distribution. However, RPBV did not appreciably influence any cumulative growth performance measures liver abscess incidence or severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of late gestation and early lactation supplementation of a vitamin B complex on the performance of beef cows and their calves. A total of 48 mature Angus x Hereford cows were randomly assigned (d0) to one of two treatments (1) vitamin (n = 24) or 1) control (n = 24) in early January, allowing for a minimum of 45 days of supplementation before calving and 15 days post-calving. Cows were fed daily with alfalfa hay to the maintenance level. Cows were individually supplemented 3 times weekly (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) with dried distiller’s grains fortified or not with a vitamin B complex. The vitamin B complex was provided at 2/g daily, and therefore was provided at 4.7g/ feeding event. The vitamin B complex contained pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (B9), biotin (B7), and cyanocobalamin (B12). Cows and calves were considered the experiment unit for this study and all data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Although all cows were artificially inseminated and pregnancy was checked before the beginning of the study, not all cows enrolled in the study calved within the expected calving range. Therefore, a total of 20 calves were born to cows assigned to control treatment and 19 calves were born to cows assigned to the vitamin treatment. No treatment differences (P ≥ 0.21) were observed for initial (d 0) body weight (BW; 1065 vs.1079 lb, respectively for control and vitamin) or body condition score (BCS; 4.7 vs. 4.8, respectively for control and vitamin) among cows. No treatment differences (P ≥ 0.34) were observed for BW (1168 vs.1161 lb, respectively for control and vitamin) or BCS (5.3 vs. 5.4, respectively for control and vitamin) among cows post-supplementation at turnout (d 90). No differences (P = 0.95) were observed for calf birth weight (81.7 lb); however, calves born to cows supplemented with vitamin tended to be heavier at turnout (P = 0.07; 169.7 vs. 180.5 lb, respectively). These results indicate that supplementation of vitamin B complex to beef cows during late gestation might lead to improved performance of offspring shortly after birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments evaluated effects of added pantothenic acid on performance of growing-finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, 156 pigs (PIC, initial BW = 25.7 kg) were used in a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial to evaluate the effects of added pantothenic acid (PA; 0, 22.5, or 45 ppm), ractopamine.HC1 (RAC; 0 or 10 mg/kg), and sex on growth performance and carcass traits. Pigs were fed increasing PA from 25.7 to 123.6 kg (d 0 to 98) and RAC for the last 28 d before slaughter. Increasing the amount of added PA had no effect (P > 0.40) on ADG, ADFI, or G:F from d 0 to 70. A PA × sex interaction (P < 0.03) was observed for ADG and G:F from d 71 to 98. Increasing the amount of added PA increased ADG and G:F in gilts, but not in barrows. Increasing the amount of added PA had no effect (P > 0.38) on carcass traits. Added RAC increased (P < 0.01) ADG and G:F for d 71 to 98 and d 0 to 98 and increased (P < 0.01) LM area and percentage lean. In Exp. 2, 1,080 pigs (PIC, initial BW = 40.4 kg, final BW = 123.6 kg) were used to determine the effects of increasing PA on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs reared in a commercial finishing facility. Pigs were fed 0, 22.5, 45.0, or 90 mg/kg of added PA. Increasing the amount of added PA had no effect (P > 0.45) on ADG, ADFI, or G:F, and no differences were observed (P > 0.07) for carcass traits. In summary, adding dietary PA to diets during the growing-finishing phase did not provide any advantages in growth performance or carcass composition of growing-finishing pigs. Furthermore, it appears that the pantothenic acid in corn and soybean meal may be sufficient to meet the requirements of 25- to 120-kg pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of studies on nonruminant nutrition, including feed ingredients. "Effect of Whey and Lactose Source on Nursery Pig Performance," by A.M. Gaines, B.W. Ratliff, P. Srichana and G.L. Allee; "Effect of Specialty Protein Supplements on Nitrogen Balance and Digestibility in Weaning Pigs," by J. Zhao, A.F. Harper, K.E. Webb Jr., M.E. Estienne; "Use of Rice in Substitution of Corn in Diets for Young Pigs," by B. Vicente, D.G. Valencia, R. Lázaro, M.A. Latorre and G.G. Mateos.

With recent increases in vitamin prices, the typical margins of safety used in formulation need to be evaluated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare two premixes with different vitamin concentrations on growth performance and carcass characteristics of pigs housed under commercial conditions. A total of 1,188 pigs (PIC 359×1050; initially 16.1 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design with 27 pigs per pen and 22 pens per treatment. There were two dietary treatments with different vitamin concentrations. Premix A provided the following vitamins per kg of premix: 3,527,360 IU vitamin A; 881,840 IU vitamin D, 17,637 mg vitamin E; 1,764 mg vitamin K; 15.4 mg B12; 33,069 mg niacin; 11,023 mg pantothenic acid; and 3,307 mg riboflavin. Premix B provided lower vitamin concentrations and contained the following vitamins per kg of premix: 1,653,450 IU vitamin A; 661,380 IU vitamin D; 17,637 mg vitamin E; 1,323 mg vitamin K; 13.2 mg B12; 19,841 mg niacin; 11,023 mg pantothenic acid; and 3,307 mg riboflavin. Premixes were included in the diet at 0.25, 0.15, 0.125, 0.10, and 0.075% from 16 to 27, 27 to 50, 50 to 75, 75 to 100, and 100 to 125 kg, respectively. Data were analyzed with pen as the experimental unit. Overall, there was no evidence for differences in ADG, ADFI, total pen gain and pen feed intake. There was a tendency (P = 0.089) for increased HCW for pigs fed Premix A due to a numeric increase in removal of lightweight pigs compared to pigs fed Premix B. No evidence for differences were observed for carcass traits, mortality, or percentage of pigs removed between the two treatments. In conclusion, the lower inclusions of vitamins A, D, B12, and niacin in premix B did not influence growth and carcass traits of grow-finish pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]