Interpretive Summary: Feeding dairy cows for improved metabolism and health

By: Leoni F Martins, Derek E Wasson, Alexander N Hristov

The objectives of this review are to 1) provide an overview of how inflammation is related to the metabolism and nutrition of dairy cows; 2) present some nutritional approaches that can be applied to modulate the immunometabolism of dairy cows; 3) point-out the state-of-the-art and the frontiers in knowledge regarding how these nutritional approaches (e.g., acidogenic diets, controlled energy diets in the prepartum period, amino acid supplementation in the prepartum period, and eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, capsaicin, hemp, and macroalgae supplementations) interact with metabolism and immune system in dairy cows. The role of other nutritional approaches on the immunometabolism of dairy cows (e.g., essential fatty acids, methyl donors, yeast, and other phytonutrients supplementation; Lopreiato et al., 2020), and other feeding and management strategies (e.g., dietary manipulation in the postpartum period, body condition score, and use of propylene glycol; Ingvartsen, 2006; Ingvartsen and Moyes, 2013) have been extensively discussed and it is beyond the scope of this review.

Read the full article in Animal Frontiers.