Fathi Somayeh, Norouzian Mohammad Ali, Khorrami Behzad, Assadi-Alamouti Ali, Bakhtiarizadeh Mohammad Reza
Department of Animals and Poultry Science, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Vet Anim Sci. 2024 Aug 12;25:100388. doi: 10.1016/j.vas.2024.100388. eCollection 2024 Sep.
This study investigated the effect of adding various flavors to calf starter concentrates on the performance, behavior, and blood parameters of Holstein dairy calves. The hypothesis was that an optimal flavor enhancer would increase starter intake, improve growth performance, and possibly enable earlier weaning without adverse physiological effects. In Experiment 1, a cafeteria test was conducted with 80 pre-weaned calves to evaluate four synthetic flavor enhancers (salty, sweet, sour, bitter) at levels of 3.3, 6.6, and 9.9 g/kg dry matter (DM), and a control without a flavor enhancer. Experiment 2 tested higher levels (9.9, 19.8, 29.7 g/kg DM) of the sweet flavor enhancer sodium saccharin in a single cafeteria test with 20 calves. Experiment 3 compared three sweet flavor enhancers (sodium saccharin, stevia, sucralose) at 9.9 g/kg DM in another cafeteria test with 20 calves. After selecting sodium saccharin at 9.9 g/kg DM as the optimal flavor enhancer, Experiment 4 was conducted with 40 calves divided into a treatment group receiving the flavored starter and a control group without flavor. In Experiment 1, sodium saccharin at 9.9 g/kg DM resulted in the highest dry matter intake (DMI) of 347 g/d, significantly higher than the control (173 g/d). Experiment 2 revealed a quadratic effect with DMI peaking at 9.9 g/kg DM sodium saccharin (201.0 g/d) and declining at higher levels. Experiment 3 confirmed that sodium saccharin outperformed other sweet flavor enhancers, increasing DMI to 350 g/d compared to 251 g/d for the control. In Experiment 4, calves fed the starter concentrate with 9.9 g/kg DM sodium saccharin showed significantly higher DMI (1749 g/d), average daily gain (ADG; 730 g/d), and feed conversion ratio (FCR; 2.05) compared to the control group (DMI 1470 g/d, ADG 650 g/d, FCR 2.36). Furthermore, calves in the flavored treatment were weaned earlier (59 days) than the control group (64 days). Behavioral observations showed that the sweet flavor treatment increased the time spent on solid feed intake, rumination, and standing behavior. Calves fed the flavored starter had lower levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood urea nitrogen, suggesting improved nutrient utilization. Overall, the results demonstrated the potential benefits of incorporating sodium saccharin as a sweet flavor enhancer in calf starter concentrates, leading to improved feed intake, growth performance, feed efficiency, final body weight (FBW), and behavioral patterns during the critical pre-weaning and post-weaning periods.
本研究调查了在犊牛开食料浓缩物中添加各种风味剂对荷斯坦奶牛犊牛生产性能、行为和血液参数的影响。研究假设是，一种最佳的风味增强剂将增加开食料摄入量，改善生长性能，并可能实现更早断奶且无不良生理影响。在实验1中，对80头断奶前犊牛进行了一次自助式测试，以评估三种水平（3.3、6.6和9.9克/千克干物质）的四种合成风味增强剂（咸、甜、酸、苦），以及一种不含风味增强剂的对照物。实验2在一次对20头犊牛的单一自助式测试中，测试了更高水平（9.9、19.8、29.7克/千克干物质）的甜味风味增强剂糖精钠。实验3在另一次对20头犊牛的自助式测试中，比较了三种水平为9.9克/千克干物质的甜味风味增强剂（糖精钠、甜菊糖苷、三氯蔗糖）。在选择9.9克/千克干物质的糖精钠作为最佳风味增强剂后，对40头犊牛进行了实验4，将其分为接受加味开食料的处理组和不含风味剂的对照组。在实验1中，9.9克/千克干物质的糖精钠导致最高干物质摄入量（DMI）为347克/天，显著高于对照组（173克/天）。实验2显示出二次效应，DMI在9.9克/千克干物质的糖精钠水平时达到峰值（201.0克/天），在更高水平时下降。实验3证实，糖精钠优于其他甜味风味增强剂，与对照组的251克/天相比，DMI增加到350克/天。在实验4中，与对照组（DMI 1470克/天，平均日增重（ADG）650克/天，饲料转化率（FCR）2.36）相比，饲喂含9.9克/千克干物质糖精钠的开食料浓缩物的犊牛表现出显著更高的DMI（1749克/天）、平均日增重（730克/天）和饲料转化率（2.05）。此外，加味处理组的犊牛比对照组（64天）更早断奶（59天）。行为观察表明，甜味处理增加了犊牛采食固体饲料、反刍和站立行为所花费的时间。饲喂加味开食料的犊牛胆固醇、甘油三酯和血尿素氮水平较低，表明营养物质利用率提高。总体而言，结果表明在犊牛开食料浓缩物中添加糖精钠作为甜味风味增强剂具有潜在益处，可提高采食量、生长性能、饲料效率、最终体重（FBW），并改善关键的断奶前和断奶后时期的行为模式。
