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Objective This study was carried out to investigate the possible application of Broussonetia papyrifera (B. papyrifera) silage as a functional feeding stuff in dairy cattle. Methods Seventy-two Holstein cows were divided into four groups randomly and allocated to 6 pens with 3 individuals in each group and fed the original total mixed ratio (TMR) in the dairy farm or the new TMR with 5%, 10%, and 15% B. papyrifera silage, separately. Feed intake were recorded, milk and blood samples were collected, and milk composition, blood metabolites and milk fatty acids composition were measure at the end of the experiment. Results Dry matter intake of cows decreased when they fed on diet with B. papyrifera, but no differences were observed in body condition score, milk yield, milk protein and lactose, feed efficiency and serum metabolites between groups. Both 10% or 15% of B. papyrifera silage in the diet significantly increased the immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG in serum, 15% of B. papyrifera silage increased the content of serum catalase, superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity, and decreased the content of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine. Furthermore, 10% or 15% of B. papyrifera silage resulted in a significant decrease in the milk somatic cell count, and increased the polyunsaturated fatty acids content in the milk. Conclusion The diets with 10% to 15% of B. papyrifera silage might enhance the immune and antioxidant function of dairy cows and increase the polyunstaturated fatty acid concentration in the milk.

Cow mastitis is a major problem frequently encountered by dairy farmers and it is manifested by the high number of somatic cells and the low quality of the milk. The conventional treatment for mastitis is use of antibiotics. In the current study, a new approach is applied to target this disorder: rumen bypass melatonin feeding (RBMF). The RBMF significantly reduced milk somatic cell count and improved milk nutritional values with the elevated protein, fat and dry matter levels. This approach also suppresses the stress and proinflammatory responses of the cows indicated by the reduced serum cortisol, TNF-α and IL-6 and increased IL-10 levels. Importantly, the beneficial effects of RBMF have lasted for several days after termination of the treatment. The effects of melatonin on the mastitis are probably attributed to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of melatonin. Considering the none or low toxicity of melatonin to organisms and the no invasive nature of this approach, we recommend that RBMF could be used in large scale in the dairy farming to target the cow mastitis.

Lambs from birth (0-day-old) to 56-day-old were selected in present study to investigate developmental changes of growth hormone receptor (GHR) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) mRNA expression in their rumen tissue. Forty-five lambs (5 lambs per group) were slaughtered at 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56 days of age respectively for sampling the tissue of the rumen dorsal sac. The abundance of GHR and IGF-I mRNA were detected through real-time quantitative PCR method. The results indicated that the expression levels of GHR and IGF-I mRNA had similar change tendency in rumen tissue that the GHR and IGF-I mRNA abundance decreased with age from birth to 56-day-old. There was significant positive correlation between the two gene mRNA expression levels. The results suggested that GHR and IGF-I gene expression levels had the specific developmental pattern in rumen tissue.

This study investigated the effects of protein sources for milk replacers on growth performance and serum biochemical indexes of suckling calves. Fifty Chinese Holstein bull calves with similar BW and age were randomly allocated to 5 groups (1 control and 4 treatments) of 10 calves in each group. Five types of milk replacers were designed to have the same level of energy and protein. The protein source for milk replacers of the control group was full milk protein (MP). The protein source of milk replacers of the 4 treatment groups was composed of MP and one vegetable protein (VP) (30 and 70% of total protein). The 4 types of VP were soybean protein concentrate (SP), hydrolyzed wheat protein (WP), peanut protein concentrate (PP), and rice protein isolate (RP). Results of the experiment showed: 1) there was no significant difference on average daily gain (ADG) and feed:gain ratio (F:G) among the MP, SP and RP groups (P > 0.05), whereas the ADG and F:G of the WP and PP groups were significantly lower compared with the MP group (P 0.05). Thereby the 4 VP milk replacers had no adverse effects on body size of calves; 3) all groups showed no significant difference in the serum contents of urea nitrogen, total protein, albumin, globulin, β-hydroxybutyrate, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1, and the ratio of albumin to globulin (A:G) (P > 0.05). In conclusion, SP or RP (accounts for 70% of the total protein) as calf milk replacers could substitute MP, whereas wheat gluten and PP had a significant adverse effect on growth performance in this experiment.